


Bonnie's the protagonist now

by kcatdino



Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: BAMF Bonnie Bennett, Bill Forbes (and all he implies), Bonnie Bennett-centric, Bonnie-Centric, Damon is season 1 compliant, F/M, Gen, Klaus doesn't show up until chapter 4, Kol is stuck in high school, Masquerade Ball, Salvatores show up in chapter 5, my Klaus makes good decisions..., or at least bad decisions I personally find sexy, season 1 rewrite, thats why i just added the klaroline tag, there's some self-insert but it's mostly a helpful side character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:00:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 37,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29013999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcatdino/pseuds/kcatdino
Summary: Kol comes back into awareness slowly. It appears the dagger has been finally pulled from his chest.“Shit shit shit shit shit please don’t eat me.” There is a woman standing above him, backed by strange lights. He smiles. It appears Niklaus hadn’t been the one to come to his senses after all.BONNIE DESERVES SO MUCH BETTER AND I MAY NOT BE QUALIFIED TO GIVE IT TO HER BUT I'M GONNA TRYBasically a season 1 rewrite but with less Salvatores, more Mikaelsons, and MORE LOVE FOR BONNIE
Relationships: Bonnie Bennett & Caroline Forbes & Elena Gilbert, Bonnie Bennett/Kol Mikaelson, Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson, Elijah Mikaelson/Katherine Pierce, Rebekah Mikaelson/Stefan Salvatore
Comments: 30
Kudos: 76





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie makes a deadly new friend

Kol comes back into awareness slowly. It appears the dagger has been finally pulled from his chest.

“Shit shit shit shit shit please don’t eat me.” There is a woman standing above him, backed by strange lights. He smiles. It appears Niklaus hadn’t been the one to come to his senses after all.

  
  


Bonnie was having a shit summer. Elena was MIA, which she totally got, ok? Her parents had just died. But who else was she supposed to talk to about being a witch? She tried telling Caroline after a cheer practice, but only got a sarcastic response (“And then you poured Grams another shot”). Witch practice and history was being shoved down her throat all her waking hours, and had threatened to interfere with cheer practice, the only time she really got out of the house. It was a relief when the first day of school came around, and wasn’t that an oxymoron?

Driving Elena to school, she puts all of her focus on predicting a good year for her best friend. She was a witch, surely positive thinking had some actual results? Once they arrived at school, she tried distracting the morose Elena with some guy talk.

“There is a major lack of male real estate this year.”

“Ugh tell me about it.” Caroline slides up by their lockers. “Though I heard we got a new transfer student. Rumor is he has an English accent.” She sighs. “Need to get my hands on him.”

“Good luck with that” Bonnie says with a laugh, though she still pauses when she passes the administration office, seeing an unfamiliar guy in there.

“Hot back, let’s see if the face can match.” She mutters to Elena and nearly jumps in surprise when the guy in question turns to send her a wicked smile. The guy was tall, with perfectly rumpled brown hair and matching eyes that seems to dance with mischievousness. The face definitely matched the butt - she meant back - and seemed to zero in on her before his attention was called back to the administrator.

“Ooh, looks like Care has competition” Elena says, playfully ribbing Bonnie with her shoulder.

“Yeah right, when’s a guy like that been interested in me.” She attempts to play it off as a joke. “C’mon, let’s get to class.”

Kol turns his compulsion on the school admin “I want the same schedule as those two lovely ladies.”

History with the Coach was boring, same as last year, except for the looks the new guy kept throwing her way. “Kol” he had said when he introduced himself with a bit of smarm, but she quickly noticed he was constantly aware of not her, but Elena, in their classes. She and Elena had every class with him, and he always positioned himself between Elena and the door and had his head tilted curiously the one time Elena left class to go to the bathroom. Bonnie likely wouldn’t have noticed last year, but the whole witch thing had set her on edge. Maybe her senses were better now that she was connected to nature? Or maybe learning that the things that go bump in the night were real just made her paranoid. Either way, she kept nearly as close an eye on Kol as he kept on Elena, covering it up with her genuine interest in his body whenever he caught her looking. She wasn’t sure he was fooled.

They continued their cat and mouse staring game throughout the week, until Caroline, with no such worries about the new guy, cornered him after school on Thursday. “Are you attending the party at the falls tomorrow?”

“Depends,” and Bonnie could practically see him turn up with dial on his charm. “How many of your lovely friends will be attending?”

When Caroline began to list the entire attendee list, Kol caught Bonnie’s eye and winked. She used the opportunity to join the conversation and test the waters a bit. “Elena and I will definitely be going.” Elena grumbled a bit behind her back at that, but Bonnie continued to study Kol’s reactions. 

“Sounds perfect, see you all tomorrow then.” With a mock salute, Kol takes off.

“My mom was telling me all about his family.” Caroline gushes. “He’s an orphan,” Elena seems to perk up at that, “And apparently, his brothers are always in and out of the house, so his guardian is a family friend who just got hired at the Sheriff’s office. They moved into the old Fell mansion and refurbished it a few weeks ago.”

“Well, let us know anything else you find out, since he definitely seems interested in Bonnie.” Elena smirks. Bonnie rolls her eyes at that, and ushers Elena out of the conversation so she can drive her home. 

  
  


The next day at school seems to fly by, everyone looking forward to the bonfire at the Falls. She offers Kol a ride in her car, since she’s already driving Elena, but he insists his house (“mansion”) is too far out of the way and that he’ll be able to get there himself. When he pulls up 5 minutes after them at the party, she discovers the real reason he refused: Kol drove a bright red convertible likely worth more than the entire town. 

Bonnie greets him as he gets out of the car “Show off much?”

“Only when there’s people worth showing off to” Kol replies, and she thinks that he must be very good at getting into people’s pants. “Show me to the drinks, darling?”

She obliges, and they chat about school for a bit. Well, she chats about their classes, but Kol seems to barely have any idea what they are studying and merely provides gossip about the teachers she has no idea how he acquired. Laughing at one of his more risque claims involving the french and math teachers, she barely notices Elena slip away to talk to Matt again. She would have stopped her, had she known. No need to rehash old wounds.

“So when exactly did you move here? I didn’t see you around before school started” She asks once she can breathe again, something tickling the back of her mind.

“Ah, about a month ago now, but we were traveling back and forth the first few weeks as everything got settled. My eldest brother Elijah stays for a couple days every two weeks or so.” 

“So you live with the sheriff’s new tech expert, Jane, right?”

“My dear little Bon-bon” her nose wrinkles at the nick name, “have you been asking around about me?”

“Nah, my best friends are just shameless snoops.” Bonnie whips her head around when she hears shouting coming from Matt and Elena’s direction. “Speaking of, best friend duty calls.” 

She didn’t mean to leave Kol by himself at the party for so long, but after she calmed Elena down and they both broke up a fist fight between Tyler and Jeremy, she seemed to lose track of him. She finally spies him at the edge of the party, and is about to call out, when she sees he has his arm around a girl, leading the two of them into the woods.

“So much for that,” she sighs to herself, and resolves to enjoy the rest of the party with her friends. Who needed slightly weird British hotties anyway?

Kol shows up at her side an hour later, the girl nowhere to be found. Still, Bonnie was raised to be polite. “Are you having a good time?”

“Oh, you could say this night has been positively delectable, darling.”

It hits her then. Maybe it’s the several beers she’s consumed making her brave or stupid, maybe Gram’s lessons finally got through to her, but she blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. “Wow, I didn’t know vampires made such stupid puns.”

Kol’s smile only seems to widen at that. “And what made you think that darling.”

She holds up her fingers to tick them off. “One, Grams started training me in magic the exact day you moved to town. Two, there have been a large number of animal attacks over the summer, which she tells me is police code for vampires. Three, you don’t know basic shit any teenager would know and talk like you're from another century at times.” She smiles up at him “Shall I continue?”

“Well, in the spirit of honesty, I wasn’t the one leaving the trial of bodies, though I have been known to do so upon occasion. And your grams started training you the day Jane warned her about our arrival, against my brother’s wishes. She’s also the one in charge of getting me caught up on this century, so blame any vernacular slip ups on her.” His smile is suddenly wicked. “Though that doesn’t explain why you pinpointed me already.”

“Is she alive?” He startles a bit at her abrupt tone shift. “The girl whose blood is on your collar, is she alive or will they find another animal attack come morning?”

“Please, Bon-Bon,” and she grimaces again at the nickname, “I am perfectly capable of leaving my food among the breathing. And I’m usually a much neater eater” He looks down at the flecks of blood on his shirt and frowns. “I must be out of practice.”

“What’s your obsession with Elena?” She gets up in his face, doing her best to stare down at him despite her diminutive height.

“Ah, that. How did you notice that?” He peers at her curiously, but she refuses to budge. “Truth be told, I’ve unfortunately been assigned protection duty for the girl. Would make my life a lot easier if you didn’t get in the way of that.”

“Protection?” Bonnie blanches. “Protection from what?”

“Try looking up the word doppelganger in one of your spellbooks, should be quite illuminating.” He winks at her, then vanishes, leaving only a rush of air to fill the spot he emptied.

Kol watches the rest of the party unfold from his hiding place up in a tree. He had promised Jane that there wouldn’t be any deaths tonight on his account, though he saw no need to interfere if one of the lightweights below succumbed to alcohol poisoning, as seemed likely. And it seemed likely there would be no vampiric deaths since Elijah had removed the Salvatores from the picture, at Jane’s suggestion. With Klaus sufficiently distracted by the hubbub in New Orleans, it left Kol the only true monster in town. He smiled at the thought.

Bonnie spent the next week avoiding Kol to the extent she was able while pouring through Grams’ grimoires to find any mention of the word doppelganger. There had yet to be a mention of it in any of the books so far, so she decided to take drastic action. She visited the sheriff’s office to pay a visit to Jane.

Jane Smith had to be the fakest name she’d ever heard. When she told the woman as much, cornering her by her car in the parking lot, Jane merely laughed in her face. “That’s because it is fake Bonnie. Kol told me how you discovered our secret. So, let it all out” she gestured between them. “Ask away.”

“Are you a vampire?”

“Points for the best opening question, but I’m not. Hope to be, truth be told. Next?”

“Why would you want to be a vampire?”

“Is this what you really want to ask, or do you want to hear more about Elena or Kol?” When Bonnie just glares at her, Jane sighs “I don’t really enjoy being a meal, which is a real concern in my life of work. And who doesn’t have a few murders they want to commit?” She jokes at the end, but Bonnie remains unamused.

“By line of work, you mean being Kol’s henchman.”

“Um, gross. I prefer minion. And I don’t work for Kol, I work for the Mikaelsons in general. Elijah’s my favorite, though I’m hoping they rescue Freya soon” Jane gets a dreamy look on her face at that.

Bonnie looks ashen. “Are all the Mikaelsons vampires?”

“Yep” Jane pops the ‘p’. “Though I’m not authorized to disclose more on that particular matter. Ask something else.”

“Are you compelled?”

“Um, probably not? I signed up without compulsion and aren’t missing any periods of time, so likely not. Though I’m pretty sure Stefan Salvatore has no idea he was compelled to forget meeting Elena so……” her voice trails off at the end.

“I have no idea who that is.” Bonnie says flatly. “And how exactly is Elena involved in this nonsense?”

“What did Kol tell you?” Jane eyes her curiously.

“Just to look up the word doppelganger. I couldn’t find anything.”

“Ah, well hate to break it to you, but a woman who looks exactly like Elena is born every five hundred years and their blood is always a potent spell ingredient.”

“Her blood!?!?” Bonnie hisses. “They want to drain Elena of her blood?”

“No!” Jane is quick to reassure her. “Well, technically... “ Bonnie starts gearing up a spell. “It’s fine, the plan is always for Elena to survive, virtually unharmed. Well, mostly unharmed. No lasting damage.” She winces. “Please don’t give me a witch aneurysm, I don’t have accelerated healing.” 

“Where’s Kol?”

“Probably stalking Elena. Or you. Or me. We both kind of report each other’s whereabouts to Elijah.”

“Me? Why would he be following me?”

Jane looks more surprised than she has their whole conversation. “You’d be a powerful ally Bonnie, to any who you should bestow the honor. We just want to make sure you grow into your powers enough to get that chance.”

“And why should I believe you?”

“You shouldn’t believe anyone other than your Grams has your best interests at heart. But know that I’m rooting for you.” Bonnie’s confusion must show on her face. “You deserve better than this world, or your friends, will be willing to give you. If you want something, go for it, just not at the cost of your own life.”

“Now, if I’ve answered enough of your questions, can I give you another piece of advice?” Plowing on before Bonnie can so much as nod, Jane continues “Kol might be a psychopathic killing machine, but he’s also a treasure trove of information when it comes to witches and their powers. Guy’s practically a walking grimoire. Stop avoiding him.” Jane opens her car door and maneuvers around Bonnie to get inside. “Feel free to swing by the house if you have any more questions” And with that, she drives off, leaving Bonnie with a lot of new information to ponder.

Bonnie stops avoiding Kol, it was getting more difficult anyway, as Elena keeps inviting the vampire to the Grill with them, giving Bonnie a loaded look each time she does. He keeps appraising her when no one else is looking, and shamelessly flirting whenever people are. He would almost grow on her, their barbs traded back and forth the highlight of her day, if not for the Elena question. When Bonnie begs Elena off from another day at the Grill and convinces her to hang out at the Gilbert house, she is genuinely surprised to hear Jane’s voice float through the door.

“No, you’re doing a wonderful job! Don’t listen to that asshat coach whats-his-name!” her voice is raised as if inebriated. “Teenagers are practically already grown up, you just need to have a few ground rules!” 

“Oh yeah, and how’s that going for you with Kol?” Jenna sounds different than usual as well.

“Pleeeaase, I’m not in charge of Kol. I’m lucky if he listens to anything I say. But Elena and Jeremy are good kids, you’ve totally got this!”

“Jenna?” Elena calls out, worried, and there is commotion from the kitchen. The two of them walk into the house proper and are hit by the smell of weed. “And here I thought you gave up your stash when you moved in with us.”

“Elena! Bonnie!” Jenna jumps up from the kitchen counter. “It’s not what it looks like!”

“Pretty sure it’s what it smells like Jenna” Elena says lightly, and Jenna looks abashed.

“Caroline’s not with you, is she?” Jane asks cautiously. 

“She wouldn’t report you to the sheriff anyway, Jane.” Bonnie says, and Jane seems to relax again.

“Well, Jenna, this has been fun, but I should probably get going.” Jane hauls herself up off the island stools. “That is, unless you are willing to be my date to the Founder’s Party” she goes down on one knee with a flourish.

Jenna giggles “I’m sadly not into women.”

Jane repeats the flourish, holding an imaginary rose. “Jenna, will you be my platonic date to the Founder’s Party? I promise to keep any skeevy ex boyfriends away from you.”

“Deal!” Jenna smiles widely, before remembering Elena and Bonnie are watching them with bemused smiles. Clearly trying to sober herself up through sheer willpower, Jenna asks them “Do you two have dates to the Founder’s Party yet?”

“I thought we could just go togeth---” Bonnie is abruptly cut off by Elena.

“Bonnie should totally go with Kol, he’s mad over her.”

“I can confirm that.” Jane pipes up from where she’s struggling to put her coat on. “Though he’d be happy to escort you both if you want.” She shares a look with Bonnie at that, who understands the meaning. No leaving the doppelganger unprotected.

Elena misses the look and seems positively bubbly for once. “She’d love to go with Kol, I’ll call up Caroline and have her go with me.”

“Great! It’s settled. I’ll tell Kol when I get home.” She looks befuddled at her keys. “Perhaps I should have him pick me up first though.” She shrugs and heads out to the porch. “I’ll just walk home.” She shouts before shutting the door. They listen to her run into the railing for a few moments before begrudgingly calling Kol for a ride.

Elena spends the next couple minutes chatting up Jenna, trying to get her to reveal any juicy family secrets. Bonnie nods along and laughs at the right parts, but pauses when she hears Kol’s ridiculous convertible on the street. She wanders over to the window to get a look.

“You know,” Kol complains, “you’re supposed to be the one looking after me.”

“Not even people who don’t know you’re a” she mouths the word ‘vampire’ “believe that. And besides, I got you a date to the Founder’s Party!” At her words, Kol looks up and catches Bonnie staring out the window. He gives her a wink before ushering his supposed guardian into the car. 

  
  


Kol would be bemused by Jane’s antics if he wasn’t worried about taking time out of his day to babysit her. He mulls over his plans on the drive back to the mansion, when she interrupts his thoughts. “I wanna get Jenna and Alaric together.” Her head lolls toward him. “You should totally eat Coach Douche-Wad so Alaric will move here and take his job. Make it really obvious it was a vampire.”

“You are encouraging me to eat someone just so a vampire hunter can come to town?” He puts on an affected voice “Whatever happened to your morals, Miss Smith?”

“You know my last name’s not Smith.” She sniffs.

“And I have no doubt you’ll someday tell me your real one.”

Kol shows up to drive Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline the day of the Founder’s party, dressed up in a tux.

He’s the perfect gentleman, offering his arm to Bonnie as they walk up the steps to the Lockwood Mansion, but pauses at the doorway, seemingly waiting for something.

“Oh, Bonnie, so nice of you to come.” Carol Lockwood greets them at the door. “Who is this lovely young man?”

Kol bends with a flourish to kiss Carol’s hand. “Kol Mikaelson, at your service.”

“Oh, Kol, that’s right, Jane has become a friend. She’s your guardian right?” At Kol’s affirmation, Carol smiles widely. “Well, come on in you two.” Kol walks easily past the threshold, Bonnie still tucked into his arm, as Elena and Caroline are greeted by Mrs Lockwood.

“What was that about?” Bonnie leans in to whisper to Kol.

He looks at her bemused. “Vampires have to be invited in darling.”

“Not that.” She stops holding onto him and grabs a drink, keeping her voice low so only his vampire ears can hear. “Since when is your fake guardian chummy with the Mayor’s wife?”

Kol slides up into her space again under the pretense of continuing their conversation. “Ah, that. Well, Jane got herself hired at the sheriff’s office so she could worm her way onto the Founder’s anti-vampire council. Seems a waste though, since they are so incompetent.” Bonnie is shocked at this, she didn’t even know the Founder’s council was aware of vampires. “Come now Bon-Bon, I have a present hidden for you upstairs.”

“Why is a present from you in the Lockwood mansion? A place you hadn’t been invited into before today.”

Kol unleashes a wicked smile. “Technically, we are stealing it. But no worries, none of the human inhabitants of this town even know it’s there. The Lockwoods won’t miss it.”

He leads them up stairs and gestures that she stand lookout while he goes into a side room. She, of course, ignores him, going right into the room with him. “How do you know where it is then?” 

“One of Jane’s visions.” Kol runs his hands over the furniture, before the hidden compartment he was looking for pops out. “There we go darling.” He holds up a gaudy necklace with a large amber stone. “The talisman of one Emily Bennett, returned to her bloodline.” Bonnie starts in surprise.

“I recognize that from one of Gram’s grimoires.”

“Good thing too, because it’s yours now.” He slips the necklace around her neck. “Don’t let Emily haunt you too much. Be sure to tell her Damon has already been taken care of.”

“Who’s Da----” Bonnie begins, but is cut off from shouting on the stair landing.

“Bonnie Bennett, where have you run off to?” Caroline complains, before turning and seeing Kol’s hands still on the necklace around Bonnie’s neck. “Ooh, going steady already?”

“Care, it’s not like that.”

Caroline sniffs. “Good, because that thing’s ugly.” Bonnie silently agrees, slipping the medallion under her neckline and allowing Caroline to drag her from the room. “C’mon Kol,” the blonde calls, “There are plenty more people to meet, you can woo Bonnie later.”

“Is that a promise?” Kol says with a laugh.

“It’s definitely not,” Bonnie grumbles, low enough that only Kol can hear it. He chuckles again.

Elena hurries up to the three of them at the bottom of the stairs. “We’ve got a problem. Logan Scum-fell has cornered Jenna again.” Bonnie rushes off with her friends, leaving Kol behind.

“I’ll get a drink and catch up, shall I darling?” he calls out to her retreating back. Bonnie ignores the vampire, with his enhanced hearing he would be able to find them anywhere in the house. They find Jenna sniping at the local news reporter, clearly already tipsy.

“Wow, Logan Fell, Channel 9 news!” Caroline does her best ‘impressed’ voice, drawing the man’s attention. Bonnie and Elena drag a stumbling Jenna away from him while he’s distracted by Caroline alternating between mocking and cajoling.

“What happened to your date Jenna?” Elena’s brows crease with concern. “She said she’d keep him away from you.”

“She winked and claimed sheriff business a few minutes before he showed up, around the same time the Lockwoods disappeared.” Jenna’s face scrunches in concentration. “I think she mentioned something about a council?” They watch as Logan excuses himself from the conversation with Caroline and rather than look for Jenna, head to a closed off parlor. Bonnie spies both of the Lockwoods, the Sheriff, and Jane behind the door before Logan shuts it. It appears Kol was telling the truth, there was a secret society among the founding families.

They spend a lot of time talking Jenna down from consuming more alcohol, enough that Bonnie doesn’t notice the sun has long since set by the time Kol shows up again. She immediately spies the dark flecks on his collar and puts two and two together. “Who did you eat?” She hisses at him, pulling him aside by his sleeve.

“Relax Bon-Bon, taking a bite out of the gym teacher was Jane’s idea.”

Bonnie notices some deputies rushing to the tree line of the mansion. “Please tell me you didn’t.”

“He’s fine, he’ll just be hospitalized for a few weeks, at the end of which he’ll decide to leave this two pony town.” Kol looks genuinely surprised she’s mad at him. “What? I _could_ have killed him, but I didn’t. I thought you bleeding heart types would appreciate that.”

Bonnie can feel the blood leaving her face. “Why?” she whispers.

“Apparently, his death is the catalyst for a drunken vampire hunter to come to town. I thought it sounded like a spot of good fun.” 

Bonnie glares at him. “You purposely lured a vampire hunter.”

Kol spreads his arms wide. “I’m playing matchmaker darling, I’m sure Jenna will be very interested in the new history teacher.”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe I was going to ask you for magic lessons.”

“You still can.” Kol replies calmly. He cocks his head to the side, clearly listening to something. “It appears I must collect my wayward guardian. Can you and the others find your own ride home?” When Bonnie goes to tell him that under no circumstances would her friends be getting in the car with him anyway, he merely clasps his hands together. “That works out for the best, at least for tonight. See you at school Bon-Bon.” He leans down and kisses her cheek before she can react, and quickly moves through the crowd back into the house.

Having rejoined her friends and Jenna, they decide to all go home, with Caroline driving the now inebriated Jenna’s car. By the time they have pulled safely away from the mansion with no incidents, Bonnie has made up her mind: she needs to warn her friends. 

“You guys need to stay away from Kol.”

“Aw, getting territorial already Bonnie?” Caroline mocks from the driver's seat.

“I’m being serious Care, he’s dangerous.”

“Dangerously hot, you mean.”

Bonnie leans forward from the seat behind Caroline, to better address her and Elena in the passenger seat. “Remember when I told you I was a witch?” Caroline merely scoffs.

“What are you talking about Bonnie?” Elena turns around, concerned.

“Grams has been training me in witchcraft since before school started. I didn’t tell you because you had enough going on.” Elena looks more hurt than shocked. 

“Kol’s a vampire.”

The car comes to a screeching halt. “Dammit Bonnie,” Caroline swears, “Don’t say ridiculous things while I’m driving.”

“Shouldn’t he sparkle if he’s a vampire?” comes Jenna’s drunken mumble. Bonnie had honestly thought the woman was asleep beside her.

“He drank a girl’s blood at the bonfire and attacked Coach Tanner tonight!.” She addresses the skeptical looks on their faces. “You don’t have to believe me now, but tomorrow when you wake up to find out that Coach Tanner is in the hospital, you’ll know I was telling the truth.”

Caroline looks uncharacteristically thoughtful. “My mom did get called away by some emergency right after dark.” She rounds on Bonnie. “That does _not_ mean I believe you.”

“The Gilbert journals talk about vampires a lot.” Jenna mumbles into the headrest. “Wait,” she shoots upright, “Is Jane a vampire?”

Bonnie’s answer is grim. “No, but she definitely knows about Kol and covers up for him with the sheriff.” 

“Good, I like her.” Jenna slurs, before soft snoring comes from her direction.

Caroline starts the car back up. “God, I can’t believe you’ve been hitting the booze so hard tonight.”

“Just drive, Care.” Bonnie sniped back. “You’ll see I’m right in the morning.” She settles back against the seat. How could she protect her friends if they didn’t believe her?

  
  


It’s Caroline who shows up at Bonnie’s door first thing the next morning, shaking heavily. “I asked my mom if anything happened last night, and she said Coach Tanner had been attacked by a wild animal. Which, like, I would have totally dismissed, if I hadn’t spent the whole night remembering every bedtime story about vampires my dad used to tell me.” She dug a necklace out of her purse and shoved it in Bonnie’s face. “Will this protect me like he said?”

The necklace was gaudy with a pink charm, the exact kind of thing a preteen Caroline would have liked. Bonnie tries to remain calm for her friend’s sake, it was a lot to dump on her after all. “If it has vervain in it, it will protect you from mind control.” She slowly lowers Caroline’s hand. “You can also ingest it, if you have a large enough supply.”

“Where do I get my hands on some?” the hands in question were shaking, clutched at Caroline’s side.

“I’ll ask Grams, in the meantime you’ll have to wear the necklace to be safe.” Bonnie breathed. Why was this so much harder than she imagined?

“Why are you friends with him?” Caroline suddenly snapped, and Bonnie practically got whiplash from the tonal shift. 

“Do you mean Kol?” Bonnie was incredulous. “I spent ages trying to avoid him, but nooo, you and Elena had to keep trying to set us up together.”

“But why did you wait so long to tell us?” Caroline bemoans, clutching at her face. “We’ve all spent so much time alone with a bloodsucking maniac!”

Bonnie reminds herself to breathe. This is what she wanted, the truth to be out there, now she just had to help Caroline work through the nerves. “As far as I know, Coach Tanner was the first person he injured since moving here.” Besides that sophomore he fed on the night of the bonfire, she thought to herself, but refrained from mentioning for reasons unknown to even herself.

“What could he possibly want with little old Mystic Falls.”

“That’s something I should talk to both you and Elena about.” Caroline eyes her for a moment, then grabs her arm, pulling her to Care’s car. “Care, I’m still in my pajamas, I can’t visit Elena right now.”

“Who’s gonna see you, Jeremy?” Caroline snorts. “I’m not waiting for answers, so we are going to ring Elena’s doorbell until she answers and you can give us all the talk you clearly want to.” Bonnie keeps jumping on the drive over to Elena’s, as Caroline isn’t the best driver when her nerves are so fragile. They make it unscafed, however, and Caroline starts pounding on the Gilbert’s door, ignoring the doorbell entirely. “Elena! Jenna! I know you’re in there! Bonnie was telling the truth!”

A rumpled Elena opens the door, followed quickly by a clearly hungover Jenna. “What are you talking about Caroline?” Elena rubs sleep from her eyes.

Caroline quickly shoves Bonnie through the open door, her bedtime stories must have included the lesson about being invited in. “Bonnie was being serious about Kol being a vampire! My mom got all cagey when she admitted something happened to Coach Tanner last night.”

“All right, I’m going back to bed.” Jenna turned her back on them with a yawn. “Feel free to catch me up later.”

Caroline turns to Bonnie expectantly. “Well,” she said, tapping her foot.

Bonnie takes a deep breath and begins explaining everything she knows “So Kol is a vampire….”

  
  


It takes a while, but Bonnie is able to explain everything she’s learned from Grams, Jane, and Kol.

“So they want Elena’s blood as a freaky spell ingredient?” Caroline wrinkles her nose. “Can’t you just use your witchy powers to make them get lost?”

“I don’t think it’s that simple Care,” Elena looks overcome with worry. “Maybe we should give them some of my blood to keep them from hurting anyone.”

“Please, Bonnie can take them.”

“You didn’t believe me 24 hours ago, now you think I should take on a who-know-how-old vampire?”

“What does age matter?”

“Emily’s grimoire says that age increases a vampire’s strength.”

Elena interrupts their argument. “Wait, are you still wearing the necklace Kol gave you?”

“Yeah, he said it belonged to Emily Bennett, I was going to ask Grams about it when I visit her today for witch lessons.”

Elena delicately lifts a strand of the necklace from Bonnie’s neck. “What if it’s dangerous?”

“Dangerously ugly” Caroline mutters.

They all jump when they hear a banging on the door. 

“Not it!” Jenna calls from deep in the house.

The vampire in question’s voice calls out. “Did I arrive in time to prove Bonnie’s word?” Warily, the three girls move to answer the door, standing as far away from the threshold as they can. “I take it you believe her at least partly, or else I’d be invited in.” Kol leered. “Well, just to remove any lingering doubts.” He slipped on the face of a monster, fangs elongating and veins darkening around red eyes. Beside Bonnie, her friends screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth behind the Mikaelson's presence comes to light

The next couple weeks, Bonnie saw a lot more of Kol. It wasn’t like she _liked_ him or anything, but she did spend every Saturday morning at his house learning new spells. He never flirted with her then, avoided even the subtlest innuendo, except at school where he pulled out all the stops to woo her. When she finally asked about it, he merely smirked at her. “Witchcraft is a serious business, can’t have you getting distracted by all this awesome.”

“Ugh, who taught you slang” she merely grumbled in response.

She still hadn’t told Grams where she spent her Saturdays, but after it became clear Kol wasn’t lying about Coach Tanner, she decided to reluctantly trust him. Tanner had just gotten out of the hospital, and his substitute Alaric Saltzman was promoted to full time history teacher once he made it clear he was leaving town. If Mr Saltzman was a vampire hunter like Kol claimed, he did a good job of hiding it. The drunkard part, not so much. Though he had been spending less time at the Grill now that he was dating Jenna, who still didn’t know about anything supernatural. Elena had begged Bonnie not to tell her, but Bonnie thought the woman should know she was dating a vampire hunter and Alaric seemed hesitant to share. She was debating what to do about the Jenna situation when she arrived at the Mikaelson manor one Saturday morning. Kol opened the door before she could even knock.

“What’s wrong, Bon-Bon?” his concern seemed a mix between genuine and mocking. “Tell uncle Kol all about it.”

“First of all: gross. And it’s just all this secrecy stuff. Debating betraying the best friend code and all that.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “That is serious stuff. Should we skip today’s lessons? I finally got Jane to set up the home theater.” His tone turns light again. “I’m told I’ve missed out on quite a bit of culture when it comes to movies, perhaps you can lead the lesson today.”

She thought, where’s the harm? She already had witch practice three times a week with Grams, might as well spend a Saturday doing something other than studying. “Alright, let’s start simple. Have you seen Star Wars?”

“Darling, I spent the last century in a box, I’ve seen nothing.” Kol gave her a winning smile, and god, he was so weird to have as a friend.

“Ugh, don’t remind me that you’re older than dirt.” She follows him into the house despite her complaints and they settle into the massive home theater, complete with individual cushy theater chairs.

“I’ll fetch us some popcorn, shall I?” And with a whoosh he’s gone. She still hadn’t gotten used to him flaunting his vampire powers when they were alone. He returns to find her eyeing him appraisingly. “All right, darling. Ask what you want to ask.”

She considers asking his age again, but he’s been cagey about that subject so she switches tactics. “Why are you so interested in magic?”

Kol flops down in the chair beside her and turns the movie on before answering. “I was a witch, you know. Before all this” He gestures to his transformed face, fangs on display. “I’m not the only witch to have been turned, but we all miss it. That connection to the earth. The power.” He shrugged.

“So were all your siblings witches as well?” Bonnie was fascinated, Kol spoke so sparingly about his time as a human, even if he constantly complained about his family in the vaguest of terms.

“Well, Elijah and Nik were always terrible at it, truth be told. Bekah got the most training as she was the only girl. Father didn’t approve of his sons learning witchcraft.” 

“And I’m sure you were great at following the rules.” Bonnie replied dryly, to which Kol merely winked. “So you have two brothers and a sister?”

“Elijah and Nik are the only ones who are… around” Kol said awkwardly. He turns his attention back to the screen. “Anyway, tell me about this movie. I was around for the invention of science fiction, but this seems very different from the books I remember.”

Bonnie let the subject drop, for now, and settled back comfortable against her chair. She needed to gather more information about Kol’s family and other vampires, so it seemed like Mr Saltzman was her next stop.

Before Bonnie realized it, she had spent the whole day watching movies with Kol. When she noticed darkness falling outside, she hurriedly excused herself. Kol seemed a little put out, but masked it by offering to escort her to her house. She refused, not wanting to reveal her intended destination. By the time she got to the Grill, she wished she had thought this plan out more. What were the chances that Mr. Saltzman was just hanging out at the bar when she needed him to be? 

Turned out to be higher than she thought, as she found Alaric arguing with Jane in the alley outside the Grill. “You need to tell her. This is a courtesy warning. If you don’t tell her, I will.” She heard Jane hiss at him as she approached.

“Mr. Saltzman?” She called out, trying to telegraph her approach in case this guy really was dangerous. She turned to Jane. “I just have a homework question for him.” The look Jane gave her clearly indicated that she didn’t buy it, but she left anyway with a sarcastic ‘See ya around ‘Ric’. 

Alaric was eyeing her warily, and a little bleary-eyed. “What do you want Ms. Bennett.”

“I want you to tell me everything you know about vampires.”

Alaric was reluctant to talk, at least before she threw him into a brick wall with her mind. After that, he couldn’t stop talking, but he unfortunately didn’t know much more than her. He had heard of witches but never met one before. All his information came from his dead wife Isobel’s research. Bonnie was suspicious of this, as Alaric claimed both that vampires left their victims bodies so torn up that animals were suspected and that his wife’s body was never found, but she kept that thought to herself. When she noticed he kept nervously adjusting his ring, she asked about it.

“It was a gift from Isobel. Said it’d protect me from things that go bump in the night.”

Bonnie came closer to examine it. “It has magic. I think I recognize it from a spellbook.”

“Well, if you could tell me if it works, that would be great.” 

She examines the ring for a few moments before taking a step back. “Have you identified any vampires in Mystic Falls yet?”

“No, I’ve had no such luck. Jane was trying to tell me to join the council if I wanted to find out more about the local vampire population.”

“Jane’s trying to trick you.” Bonnie said flatly. “The council doesn’t know anymore than you do.”

“But you know more, don’t you Bonnie.” Alaric was eyeing her warily. “I can help you by getting rid of them. Just point me to their nest.” Bonnie almost laughed at that. There was no way Mikaelson manor could be considered a nest.

“How about this, you let me know if any strange vampires show up in town, and I’ll help you get rid of them. I give a killer vampire migraine.” Bonnie smiled and turned to go. “See you in class Mr Saltzman.”

Her usual cycle of class, witch practice with Grams, homework, Saturday practice with Kol, continued for the next couple weeks. Until one day, Alaric called her to stay behind after class.

“Don’t ask how I know this, but a few local blood banks have been robbed recently. No trace anyone was there, just missing inventory.” 

“Thanks Mr. Saltzman. I’ll look into it.”

“I shouldn’t let teenagers handle this alone.” he said.

“Relax, I’m just going to ask around. I’ll be fine.” 

That was how she found herself outside Mikaelson manor on a Tuesday, a spelled truth crystal in her bag. It should glow in the presence of lies, but she was hoping she shouldn’t need it. Kol hadn’t even noticed the stone in her bag last time they met up and it hadn’t gone off once. Hopefully that meant he wasn’t in the habit of lying to her, not that it didn’t work. Her backpack had started glowing when Matt told Caroline he didn’t have feelings for her yesterday and Bonnie had been hard-pressed to keep anyone from noticing, so at least it worked under some circumstances.

She thought about knocking, but the door swung open the moment she touched it. “Kol? Have you been robbing blood banks?” she called out, wondering if anyone was home. She wandered toward the back of the house when she noticed an herbal smell coming from a room she hadn’t been in before. She recognized the scent after a moment. Sage. Pushing open the door, she has a moment to recognize the room as an office before she nearly screams at what she finds.

“Elena! What the hell!?” She screeches at her friend, who is currently wrapped around a tall, dark-haired man she’s never seen before who slightly resembles Kol.

“Sorry, wrong doppelganger.” Elena purrs, and she had no idea her friend could make her voice sound like that. 

“Ah, Miss Bennett.” The tall man extracts himself from Elena’s grasp. “Fortuitous timing, I believe we have business to discuss. I am Elijah Mikaelson, this is Miss Katherine Pierce.”

Bonnie stares dumbfounded at the two of them for several moments before their words click in her brain. Elena. Doppelganger. Mikaelson. This Katherine woman must be one of Elena’s magical doubles they had spoken about. And here she was, finally meeting one of Kol’s brothers with her mouth hanging open like a fish.

Of course, she says the first thing that comes to mind. “You have a little lipstick, um, everywhere actually.” She backs away slowly. “I’ll just wait in the parlor for Kol.”

She practically runs to the front of the house, slamming directly into Kol. “Ah, I see you’ve discovered my brother’s little tryst. I try to avoid the house when she’s here myself.” his arms are on her, steadying her in his grip. He takes in the shock still on her face.

“She looks exactly like her.” Bonnie stammers. “It’s not that I didn’t believe you, I just… they look so much alike.”

“Yes, Katerina has been a thorn in Nik’s backside for the past five hundred years, and I remember the first doppelganger, Tatia, caused even more problems when we were human.”

“Wait,” Bonnie’s brain was slow to put the pieces together, still recovering from shock. “If Elena’s doubles are born every 500 years, and you knew the original 2 incarnations ago…” She shoves Kol away from her. “You’re a thousand fucking years old.”

His smile is bemused. “I haven’t exactly been hiding it darling.”

“You go to high school! That is so creepy!” She moves to shove her way past him when another vampire whooshes into the room.

“Ah, Miss Bennett. I believe we can get around to discussing terms now?” Elijah is now thankfully lipstick free, his suit buttoned back up.

Bonnie is still bewildered. “Terms?”

Elijah adjusts his cufflinks. “Kol informed me you would be running point in negotiating on behalf of the residents of Mystic Falls with my family.” When her expression doesn’t change, he continues. “Did Kol not inform you we wished to negotiate?”

“I ah, must have forgotten.” Kol claims lightly, and Bonnie’s backpack glows. They all turn to look at it for a second, a sliver of amusement on Elijah’s face. Kol does jazz hands. “Surprise!”

“Miss Bennet,” Elijah reclaims everyone’s attention, “It is imperative that we come to a peaceful agreement regarding Miss Gilbert’s blood and the safety of everyone in Mystic Falls.”

“I’m not just going to hand her over!”

“That won’t be necessary Bon-Bon. All of ‘Lijah’s best laid plans involve Elena living a long, human life, complete with obnoxious kids and sticky grandkids running about.” Kol shoves his hands into his jeans pockets, looking like he told some great joke.

“You want her to continue the doppelganger bloodline.” Bonnie states, glad she has caught up.

“We merely wish for Miss Gilbert’s participation in a spell, and weekly blood donations following it. Should she wish to have children someday, we will be happy to finance her way through any obstacles.”

“And if we refuse?” Bonnie asks cautiously.

“Then dear brother Nik comes to town, slaughters everyone and absconds with Elena” Kol spreads his arms wide, like what he just said was the most obvious thing in the world. Bonnie glances at her bag where the truth crystal is stored. No glow. He wasn’t lying.

“Now, this must be a lot for you to take in” Elijah had understatement down to an art. “So we can reconvene at a later date. Do let Kol know when you, Miss Gilbert, and any other needed parties can negotiate.” She heads for the door with shaky hands, recognizing the clear dismissal. “And Miss Bennett?” She turns back around to face Elijah. “It has taken quite a bit of effort to keep Niklaus’s attention elsewhere. Time is running out for that.”

Bonnie drives straight to Grams’ house, tears threatening to overtake her the whole way. Grams barely has time to ask what's wrong when Bonnie envelops her in a hug.

“I messed up Grams,” Bonnie sobs into her shoulder.

“Now how exactly did you mess up? You think I don’t know you’ve been sneaking off to hang out with that vampire every week?” Sheila runs her hand through Bonnie’s hair. “That’s honestly not so bad dear.”

“No, it’s not that.” Bonnie wipes some tears away and then laughs. “Well, not entirely that.” She takes a shuddering breath. “They want to sacrifice Elena,” she says in a small voice.

“Who does?”

“Kol’s family. Or his brothers at least. I brought that lying crystal you helped me spell and Kol wasn’t lying when he said his brother would kill the whole town to get his hands on Elena.”

“Does this brother have a name?”

“Kol called him Nik. But Elijah, the other brother, called him Niklaus.”

“Well, I don’t know about any Niklaus, but Klaus has been the scourge of the vampire community going back generations. The monster every vampire fears, or at least they would, if they’ve heard of him.” She grasps Bonnie’s face in her hands. “Don’t you worry a thing. I’ll get in touch with some contacts, find out exactly who we are dealing with here. You’re going to be ok Bonnie” she says as she pulls her into another bone-crushing hug. Grams is still whispering soothing words as Bonnie falls asleep on the couch.

  
  


Bonnie wanted to skip school the next day to help, but Grams refused, saying that even if she didn’t value her education, she shouldn’t leave her friends alone at school with a vampire. So Bonnie reluctantly trudged into her first class, determined to set her plan in motion. Convincing Elena and Caroline to come over to Grams for a sleepover on Saturday was easy, but she was still debating who else to include. Mr. Saltzman could be a helpful ally, but she still didn’t trust him, what with his penchant for lying to Jenna, and besides, he had yet to kill so much as a newborn vampire, yet alone one a thousand years old. She flinched at that, that she might have to kill Kol to keep Elena safe, but her friends had to come first. She wanted to include Matt in their pow-wow, but she hadn’t even told him about the witch business yet. Elena refused to include Jenna or Jeremy when Bonnie revealed the purpose of their meeting at lunch. Bonnie couldn’t imagine keeping a secret like that from family members, but was a little relieved it would just be the three of them, plus Grams, against the world. It was just the first war meeting, after all. They could build up their allies later.

When Saturday came around, she skipped her appointment with Kol and spent the day attempting to contact Emily Bennett through her talisman. She still hadn’t had any luck when Elena and Caroline showed up just after lunch.

“So, what’s had you so bothered all week?” Caroline demanded. Bonnie just gives her an exasperated look. “What, like it wasn’t obvious. You didn’t even do that rude-flirting thing with Kol this week.”

Grams shows up from her study at that moment. “An ancient vampire named Klaus wants to sacrifice Elena in order to become an even bigger abomination of nature.” She sets down a heavy grimoire with a thud. “Kol and his family are all involved in helping Klaus.”

“We think Klaus is Kol’s brother.” Bonnie explained. “You know, the one Kol always jokes about having a murderous temper?”

Caroline flops down on the couch. “Ugh, why couldn’t it be the stodgy brother who was bothering us?”

Elena sits down next to Caroline, nervousness emanating from her features. “Maybe we should just give them what they want.” When they all look at her like she’s crazy, she continues. “What? They said I’d survive.”

Caroline is undeterred. “You’d have to give weekly blood donations! You wouldn’t be able to travel anywhere!”

“They also said I’d get financial help for any kids and fertilization treatments. That’s not nothing.”

“Those were just the opening terms of the deal. We can get you a better offer, get it down to monthly blood donations.” Bonnie adds.

“There isn’t much time to negotiate however.” Grams is deadly serious. “My contacts say Klaus is currently waging war in New Orleans, but it won’t keep him occupied forever. From what Bonnie said, we’ve been dealing with the friendly side of the family so far.”

“What’s Elijah like?” Elena turned to Bonnie. “You’ve scarcely described him.”

There’s a reason for that, Bonnie thought. She wonders how much she can leave out or if she should just rip the proverbial Katherine band aid off. “I don’t think he has as much a stick up his ass as Kol says, at least based on how I found him.” She grimaces. “He was *involved* with one of your doppelgangers.” They all grimace at this knowledge.

Carolien sits upright suddenly. “That’s it! We’ll just have Elena seduce Elijah, problem solved!”

Elena looks shocked and Bonnie quickly moves to correct Caroline’s assumption. “Yeah, this woman was nothing like Elena, I don’t think she’d even want to pull it off.”

Elena gets a curious look in her eye. “What was she like?”

“Um, I only saw her for a minute, but she oozed sex. Curled hair, stiletto heels, and her lipstick wasn’t smudged at all despite being all over Elijah’s face.” Elena grimaces at that.

“We should start drawing up a list of loved ones we want protected. You two still wearing your vervain charms?” Her friends nod. “I’d say we should just ask for blanket protection for everyone in town, but that might weaken our position, and the level of protection.”

“How do we know listing our loved ones won’t just tell them who to target?”

Bonnie frowns. “We don’t. We just have to trust.” She sighs. “So who else are we bringing on Team Save Elena?”

“We should definitely include Matt and Tyler.” Caroline pipes up.

“What about your mom? We know she is on the vampire council.”

As Caroline struggles to come up with an answer, Grams speaks up. “Those fools on the vampire council are incompetent and hard headed. It would take more effort and time than we have to get them to negotiate, and not just get themselves killed in a fight where they don’t stand a chance.”

“Let’s definitely not include my mom then.”

“I don’t want Jenna or Jeremy involved either.”

Grams takes issue with that. “Jenna is your guardian, you think she won't notice if something happens to you as a result of whatever spell they have planned?” Elena is quiet at that. “Caroline can keep her adults out of the picture since she won’t be on the frontlines, but any move we make will involve you Elena. You can’t leave your family out of that.”

“The spell is a sacrifice.” Bonnie adds quietly. “I saw the spell instructions when Kol was showing me some spells that would keep you alive. So Elena would survive, but the other sacrifices wouldn’t.” They’re all quiet for a while.

They decide to reconvene in a week, with Bonnie assigned to find out exactly how much time they have before Klaus shows up for murder and mayhem.

On Thursday, the three of them are hanging out on the patio at the Mystic Grill after school when a new voice, a rarity in town, addresses them. “Hello, you must be Elena.”

They all turn to look in unison at the new woman. She’s wearing a light coat despite the chill, with heavy dark hair and a near blank expression. “Sorry, do we know you?” Caroline is immediately hostile.

“My name is Isobel. I’m Elena’s birth mother.”

“I.. I’m not adopted.”

The strange woman tilts her head. “Oh, they never told you. I expected John would squeal sooner or later, I guess it was later.” She chuckles in a dead voice. “I owe Kat money.” They all just stare at her. “Let’s get down to business, shall we?” 

Isobel pulls out a chair and joins them at their table. She stares directly at Bonnie. “I want your help to kill Klaus.”

“Listen, whoever you are,” Caroline begins in a nasty voice, but is cut off when Isobel stares directly into her eyes. “Yeah, nice try, I’m on vervain.”

“Clearly, it’s in your awful necklace.” Caroline glances down with a frown. “Listen, I’m in town to kill Klaus, and with Elena here as bait and Bonnie superpowered on dead witches, it’s possible.”

“Why would we even help you? Just because you claim to be a relative of Elena’s” That part was believable to Bonnie at least, they did resemble each other. “We are negotiating with Elijah and Kol.”

Isobel barks out a dead laugh. “Klaus doesn’t negotiate. And Elijah can’t control him. As for Kol, he’s a wildcard. He’s only interested in powerful witches.” She side eyes Bonnie at that. “I will kill Klaus, and you two are going to help me, or I’ll start munching on your favorite humans in town. Like Matt. Or Jeremy.” Her chair flies back with a clatter when she stands up. “I’ll be in touch.”

  
  


They have an uneventful few weeks, at least in terms of the supernatural after that. Bonnie arrives with Elena early to help her get ready for the Miss Mystic Pageant. The two of them join Caroline in one of the changing rooms, prepping hair and makeup. Caroline's complaining that Matt couldn't escort her and Tyler had to step in. It's a relief to talk about something so far removed from the supernatural.

She should have known it wouldn't last, though.

The doors fly open, and suddenly Isobel is standing before them. "What do you want?" Bonnie snaps at her, preparing a witchy aneurysm.

"Why, I just wanted to see my daughter compete for the crown, of course." Isobel says in that dead voice of hers. Bonnie's never heard a vampire sound as lifeless as Isobel does. She cocks her head to the side. "You clearly don't believe me. Will you be more comfortable if I threaten you again?" 

Elena's had enough. "We'd be more comfortable if you left" she grinds out.

"Well, I guess I do need to deliver a threat after all, before the Original boyfriend arrives." Bonnie is thrown momentarily by the reference, not knowing who it was about, and is too late when Isobel doesn't attack Elena or herself, but buries her fangs in Caroline's neck. Bonnie lets out a guttural scream, throwing Isobel across the room, Caroline collapsing in her wake.

"Oh my god, Caroline!" Elena and Bonnie rush over to their fallen friend, who is unresponsive to their cries. Bonnie looks up at a familiar whoosh sound. Isobel is nowhere to be seen.

Kol stands there, uncharacteristically serious, and she realizes that the three of them are all covered in blood. "Looks like I'm late to the party." He says grimly, before ripping open his wrist with his fangs and shoving it in Caroline's mouth. Bonnie and Elena scramble away in surprise.

"What are you doing to her?"

"Healing her." And sure enough, Caroline's wound is closing and she seems to be regaining consciousness, though the blood remains. He wipes the blood off his wrist onto a towel by the hairdryer. "We should all leave."

That seems to wake Caroline right up. "We can't leave! I need to get cleaned up so I can be Miss Mystic!" She scrambles for a towel, dabbing at herself in the mirror. "Thankfully I wasn't wearing my dress yet or it'd be ruined."

Bonnie and Elena stare in shock at Caroline for a moment, before Kol interrupts. "Well, if you want to stay in the least secure building in town, be my guest. I'm getting Bonnie and Elena out of here." He grabs each of them around the arm.

"Kol, Kol, wait! We can't just leave in our bathrobes!" 

There's a glint in his eyes. "Very well, you have 5 minutes to get changed and convince Caroline here to stop being an idiot. I'll be outside the door."

They fail to convince Caroline to leave. “She’s only after Elena, I’ll be fine.”

“Care, she just attacked you to get to me, you shouldn’t stay.”

“If you leave, she’ll switch targets and I can win Miss Mystic in peace.”

“Care, you’re in shock, you don’t understand….” Elena pleads

“I understand plenty!” Caroline shouts now. “I don’t have a supernatural destiny like the two of you, so this sad, silly pageant is all I have going for me!” Both Elena and Bonnie reel back in shock. “I need this, ok! I need it for college applications, and sorority rushing, and all the things I plan to do with my limited human time!” She takes a steadying breath. “Kol was right though, about you two being in danger. You should go.”

They reluctantly change into their jeans and sweaters, opening the door to follow Kol out of the mansion. “She has a point, darlings, the target is the two of you. Now if you tasty little bits will stop sticking your necks out, we can leave.” Bonnie shoots a worried look at Caroline before she reluctantly goes.

She and Elena find themselves ensconced in Mikaelson Manor instead of the Lockwood one for the remainder of the night under Jane’s watchful eye while Kol searches the town for Isobel.

“The property’s under your name, right?” Jane looks up reluctantly at Bonnie from her laptop. “You are the only person who lives here who’s, you know, ‘alive’. So you have to be the one to let people in.”

“I’m not letting anyone in for you.” Jane says flatly. “I’m on vervain and more afraid of the Mikaelson’s thousand years of torture practice than a baby witch, Bennet or not.”

“I was just making conversation, jeez.” After that, they pass the night in silence.

“Thanks so much for driving me home Tyler!” Caroline flashes him her winning smile, crown perched above her head.

His grin is wry. “You don’t have to do that, I know you don’t like me.”

“I like you Tyler!” He shoots her a look before staring at the road again. Caroline regroups. “You stepped up and were a perfect escort, and I really appreciate that. I am willing to put our past, like you slut-shaming me, in the past where it belongs” she ends diplomatically. 

“And you slut-shaming me.” He gives her a knowing look.

“And me slut-shaming you, yes. And druggie-hook-up shaming you, and all that. And you being a general asshole.” She sighs. “This is why we need to start over, you really came throu…..”

“TYLER LOOK OUT!!!” 

He swerves to avoid hitting a figure standing in the middle of the road. The car slams into a tree and the last thing Caroline hears before the darkness engulfs her is a cold, dead laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline adjusts to her new normal and Isobel continues her threats

They are still at Mikaelson Manor when they get the call.

“Tyler was in a crash and no one can find Caroline, even though her blood is all over the car” begins Liz’s shaky voice. “Tyler is being rushed to the hospital, but things aren’t looking good for Caroline if we can’t get her to the hospital in time. Let me know if she contacts either of you?”

Elena and Bonnie assure the sheriff they’ll do anything they can to help, before looking at each other helplessly. Bonnie grabs her phone again to call Kol, only for the doors to the manor to swing open.

“Turns out she was wrong about not being a target.” Kol states grimly, standing in the doorway with Caroline’s limp body in his arms.

“Caroline!” Bonnie and Elena rush over. “Is she…?”

“She’s dead, for now.” They merely look at Kol in confusion. “It’s vampire 101 darlings; she died with my blood in her system. She’ll wake up any moment and begin her transition into a vampire.”

“She’s dead?” Elena starts sobbing. “Even if she becomes a vampire, she’ll still be dead.”

Bonnie pushes down her own despair. “What does she need to do to complete the transition?”

“Drink human blood, of course.” Kol flashes a wicked smile, as if he hadn’t just deposited the dead body of her friend onto his couch. Bonnie begins to hyperventilate and Kol grasps her shoulders. “Breathe through it Bonnie. She’ll be perfectly alright.” She sobs into his chest while Elena settles herself into the chair across from Caroline, determined to keep silent watch. They stay in that state for a while, the only marker of time Jane bringing the girls glasses of water and Kol a suspicious tumbler. He refuses it at first, but relents the third time it’s shoved into his hands.

Bonnie steps out of his arms. “It’s ok, if you need to replenish your strength or something.” She glances at the mysterious tumbler, determined not to think about where they got the blood from.

“Well, it’s not like I ran a dead body across town in the rain or anything” Kol jokes, but it does nothing to lighten the mood. Bonnie takes the chair next to Elena and joins her watch. “You know, she won’t wake up any faster just because you two are staring at her.” He sighs and takes a sip of his drink. “She’ll likely try to munch on your tasty human blood first thing, you know.”

Elena looks like she’d been slapped. “Caroline wouldn’t hurt us.”

Kol adopts his joking tone once again “You two have clearly never experienced bloodlust.” Bonnie attempts to give him a flat look, but merely starts laughing instead. And keeps laughing. She can’t seem to stop laughing. “Thank you Bonnie, I’m glad someone appreciates my sense of humor.”

“It’s not that,” Bonnie wipes tears from her eyes. “This is all just so ridiculous. We left Caroline alone because we thought she wasn’t too involved in the supernatural. She’ll always be a part of this mess now.” Bonnie starts laugh-crying again, only to be interrupted by the voice of a dead girl.

“Jeez, what’s wrong with Bonnie?” Caroline croaks out, sounding very much like she had just come from a car accident.

“Caroline!” Bonnie and Elena rush to her side, only to be stopped by Kol flashing in front of them.

“Allright Care-bear. Time for vampire 101. You died with my amazing Original vampire blood in your system, now you get a choice.” He rattles the tumbler full of blood. “You either drink this yummy human blood and promise not to munch on your friends, or you slowly wither away and die. Your choice.”

Caroline’s voice is barely a whisper. “I don’t want to die.” 

“Human blood it is then.” Kol says happily, handing over the drink, which Caroline takes in greedy gulps. “We’ll do basic vampire training in a bit, but first you ought to call the dear sheriff.”

“Oh my god, my mom!” Caroline shoots up and goes off in search of the landline. Elena follows her, offering up her cell phone. 

Bonnie and Kol hang back. “Thanks. For everything. We really owe you for saving her life. Twice. I hate to think what would have happened if she woke up in a body bag in the coroner’s office. Her mom might have staked her on instinct. And thank you for promising to help her adjust to all of this.” 

Kol looks genuinely surprised at her outburst. “Don’t say things you don’t mean, Bon-Bon. Mikaelsons always collect on owed debts.”

“I’m not handing over Elena.”

He laughs. “I know that. Besides, consider my helpfulness as looking out for my own interests. Can’t have the precious doppelganger around an untrained baby vampire. Or have you in danger.” Kol looks at her in a way Bonnie doesn’t want to analyze just now, and so she excuses herself to go check on Caroline. Halfway out the door, a thought occurs to her.

“What did you mean, original vampire blood?”

Kol plasters on his innocent face. “Hmm?”

Bonnie is undeterred. “You said your blood was original vampire blood. What did that mean?”

“Let’s just say, my siblings and I are the only vampires to have turned _without_ having vampire blood in our systems.”

“You turned via spell.” Bonnie puzzles out. She eyes him curiously. “All other vampires must have turned from your family’s bloodlines then.”

“That’s what I like about you Bon-Bon; not just a pretty face.” Bonnie merely glares at him and he sighs. “It’s why Isobel’s plan would backfire so spectacularly even if she were successful. She was turned from Klaus’s bloodline, so killing him would kill his entire sire line, including herself.”

Bonnie halts her trek into the foyer abruptly. “So if you were to die, so would Caroline.”

Kol looks gleeful under his normal leer. “Like I said, not just a pretty face.”

Bonnie goes home to get the daylight ring spell from Emily's grimoire, and by the time she's completed the spell it's nearly 10 in the morning and none of them have gotten any sleep. Caroline is relieved she no longer has to wear her pink charm vervain necklace, until she hears she can be compelled again by Original vampires. Which leads to Bonnie promising to stay with Caroline for all her new vampire training to keep Kol in line. Kol escorts Elena home while Jane shows Caroline and Bonnie to some guest rooms where they can sleep the night off. It’s too soon to let Caroline go home, and Bonnie promised to stay with her, so they are both basically prisoners in Mikaelson manor until Caroline can prove she won’t eat her friends.

“BONNIE!!” There’s a pounding on the door of her guest bedroom after only a few short hours of blissful sleep. “GET UP, I’M HUNGRY!”

“YOU CAN’T EAT ME CAROLINE!!!”

“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT AND YOU KNOW IT!” Caroline takes a breath and seemingly settles herself. “It’s past lunch and I still want human food.” 

Bonnie reluctantly shuffles out of bed, still in the clothes she changed into when they fled the Miss Mystic Pageant last night. She throws open the door to glare at the ever-perky Caroline. “Did you get any sleep over the past couple hours?”

“Nope” is her chirpy reply. “Been interrogating Jane the whole time on vampire powers and weaknesses. I made her get me some paper and pens, I have a whole chart going.”

“Of course you do,” Bonnie says with a yawn. “Did you convince her to get us lunch?”

“No need, she’s the one who sent me up here for you.” They trudge down the stairs. Well, Bonnie trudges, Caroline seems like she’s bouncing with energy. “Apparently Kol has a private chef, but today Jane had him cook at home and drop off the food for us.” Likely so Caroline had one less target to try to eat. Bonnie looked at her friend from the corner of her eye. Was she a bad friend for wondering if Caroline was still safe to be around? Kol had apparently felt comfortable enough to leave the new vampire with Bonnie and Jane, but he wasn’t exactly known for playing it safe. 

They dig into the prepared food when they get downstairs, Jane typing away on her laptop the whole time, ignoring them until her phone chimes. “Kol’s here to take over my shift, I need to get to the sheriff’s office.” 

“I don’t need to be babysat like a child.” Caroline sounds very much like a child when she says that. She is more serious in her next words. “What are you going to tell my mom?” 

Jane absent-mindedly pats Caroline’s cheek. “Nothing. She won’t know I’ve seen you. You’ll have to come up with a good explanation for not going home after the accident yourself.”

“Can you check on Tyler? Make sure he knows I’m ok?”

Jane pauses, looking worried for the first time that day. “I’ll see what I can do” she mummers before heading out the front door.

Kol arrives the moment Jane vacates the room. “Miss me, my lovelies?”

Caroline’s never hated anything more in her life than she hates vampire training. She thought she was in good shape from cheerleading, but Kol keeps slamming her to the ground whenever she tries to use her strength or speed on him. She mastered the basics quickly, but it took her far too long to realize that the pounding in her head wasn’t coming from inside her. It was coming from Bonnie’s blood. She could hear every beat of her friend’s heart and if she thought about it too long, her fangs would start to come out. That was always the point when Kol would slam her into the dirt, smirking the whole time. He always seemed to know when she was fighting the hunger, and was there to remind her there were bigger things to worry about. Like a thousand year old vampire. Kol had her practice focusing her hearing and sight on far off things, like deer and cars on the far road. This continued until it was nearly dusk when Jane came out to join Bonnie sitting on the steps to the house.

“She’ll be fine, you know. She can probably go see her mom now.” Caroline jumps up with happiness, determined to rush over and hug her savior but Kol grabs her collar and stops her short.

“Which one of us has a thousand years of experience now, darling?”

“Please, you have seven hundred at most” Bonnie snorts, her first words in a while, and Carolien makes a point to ask her about what she means later. “I’ll stay with her, I can keep any hunger urges in line.” Kol looks ready to argue, but ends up wincing and waving them on. Bonnie and Caroline head to the car before she asks how Bonnie was able to convince him. “It was a mild aneurysm. It’s the basic witch trick against those with supernatural healing. I was just demonstrating how I could stop you before you ate anyone.”

“Aw, I can’t decide if it’s weirdly sweet you witch-migrained your boyfriend to stand up for me or if I’m mad you don’t trust me.”

Bonnie sighs, not ready to start this argument on so little sleep. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Caroline turns teasing, “That’s not what it looked like when I woke up.”

“You mean when you woke up after you _died_? In a car accident? That likely means Tyler is a werewolf now?” Caroline rounds on her in surprise just as they reach Bonnie’s car. “Yes, Tyler is from a werewolf bloodline. The curse is only triggered if you kill someone. You are technically dead now. And yes, car accidents count.”

“If anything, it was Isobel’s fault.” Caroline pouts as she gets in the car. “Tyler shouldn’t be punished for it.” Silently, Bonnie agrees, but doesn’t say anything as she drives them to Caroline’s house. Liz is waiting for them when they pull up at the house.

“Where the hell have you been?” She asks, before pulling her daughter in for a hug. “I was worried sick about you!”

“Mom, mom I’m fine.” Caroline says, trying to push her mom off her without using her enhanced strength.

“The hell you are! You need to go to the hospital right now to get checked out.” She runs her arms up and down Caroline’s, seemingly checking her for injuries. Caroline looks at Bonnie helplessly and she realizes it isn’t from bloodlust.

“Listen, Sheriff Forbes.” Bonnie begins.

Liz rounds on her. “And you! You and Elena promised me you’d contact me the moment you heard from her, and yet you two show up here together and I don’t hear anything from any of you until this morning.” She stares at both of them hard, using the stance she uses to intimidate suspects. “I want a good explanation for this.”

“Mom--” Caroline starts, but Bonnie does some quick thinking and cuts her off.

“I’m a witch. I used my powers to save Caroline, but it means if you take her to the hospital she won’t show any injuries and it’ll be suspicious.” Liz gapes at her like a fish. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell your fellow council members about my powers, since they burnt my ancestor at the stake.”

“You’re talking about Emily Bennett.” Liz replies cautiously. “She was actually a witch?”

“Bonnie’s the most powerful of her line since Emily” Caroline says proudly, and Bonnie remembers when Caroline stood on her doorstep shaking, turning to her magical friend for answers and protection against the vampires. And now Caroline was one of them. Liz blinks at them slowly, struggling to process everything before her and Bonnie’s glad she hadn’t mentioned vampire blood, as that would only make the sheriff more suspicious of her daughter. “I’m really fine, mom.” Caroline begs, and Bonnie can hear in her voice how much she needs her mom to believe it. How much she needs to believe it herself. 

The sheriff’s eyes begin tearing up “I’m just glad your home honey.” They sob and hold each other for a while as Bonnie stands awkwardly to the side. “Thank you Bonnie,” Liz finally says in the dying light. “Thank you for bringing her home.”

They fully inducted Tyler into the Save Elena Team, warning him about his first full moon coming up before Founders Day. Caroline breaks up with Matt, citing how hard it is to tell the difference between bloodlust and lust-lust. Tyler sticks to her like glue after that, though whether out of puppy love or guilt over both their new states, no one’s sure, least of all Tyler. Bonnie wakes up one Saturday, determined that this was the one day she could have to herself, the one day she could sleep in, when the doorbell rings. “Bonnie, the vampire’s here for you” Grams calls out from the other room.

Bonnie opens the front door with a yank, staring down Kol, who’s dressed nicer than usual, though not in a tux like he had been for the Founder’s Party. She rubs sleep from her eyes. “I was just going to text you that I wanted to skip today.”

“No lessons today darling, though you may want to put on a fancier outfit.” It’s only then that Bonnie realizes she answered the door in her barely-there sleep shorts and a braless tank top. She slams the door with a yelp, and rushes to change. It’s only when she opens the door to join Kol that she realizes she could have gone back to bed after slamming the door. Oh well. Taking a drive in Kol’s convertible on a nice morning isn’t the worst way to spend the day.

“Where are we going?” She says with a frown, recognizing the drive to his house. “I thought we weren’t having witch lessons today.”

“We aren’t.” Kol’s smile goes all the way to his eyes. They pull up to the house and he opens her door with a flourish. “After you, darling.”

She gives him her best I’m-not-impressed look at his impeccable manners, before opening the door to the mansion.

“SURPRISE!!!” Half of Bonnie’s class is there, holding up banners and noisemakers, Caroline and Elena in the front. She squeals in delight. She was sure that no one would remember her birthday among all the supernatural nonsense in this town. Caroline drags Bonnie in the house by the arm. “Isn’t this great! Elena and I set it up!” There’s a cough behind them. “It was Kol’s idea though.” Caroline adds belatedly. “And he let us throw the party in this swanky place!”

“And paid for everything.” Kol adds, sounding a little put out, and Bonnie turns to kiss him on the cheek. 

“I appreciate your wallet’s suffering.” She teases, and he immediately lights up.

Before he can respond, Caroline drags her in a death grip toward another room of the party, where they have a bar and dance music going. “I know it’s not exactly classy to start drinking before noon, which is why we have bloody mary’s and mimosas in addition to the beer for the jocks. Kol insisted the party be in the morning so you wouldn’t have to spend the whole day thinking we forgot. Personally, I was picturing more of a 20s speakeasy theme in the evening light….” Caroline keeps prattling on and Bonnie loses track of the conversation, trying to take it all in. Every student she was remotely fond of was here, as well as that one fellow cheerleader she was happy to see being forced to wear a pleasant smile as if they didn’t hate each other on a regular basis. More seniors than she expected showed up, likely drawn by the promise of free booze. She’s not surprised at all when Tyler shows up, bearing drinks for the two of them, made to Caroline’s exacting standards. She takes a drink of her mimosa and finds it’s nicer champagne than she’s ever had in her life, even at the Lockwood’s parties.

Elena pops up on her right side. “Bonnie, you look great! How did you know to dress so nice! I was worried about the surprise party aspect in the morning you know.”

“Oh, well I just matched Kol’s outfit.” She begins, but she realizes her mistake when Elena gets a gleam in her eye. “I just mean I matched the fancy-ness level of his clothes.”

“Uh huh. And where did you think you were going when Kol picked you up?” 

Not somewhere with other people, she thought privately, but there was no way she was telling Elena that. She was just going to blame it all on her sleep-addled brain. “I just thought we were all meeting at the Grill or something.” 

Elena clearly isn’t impressed by her lie, but their conversation is interrupted by Caroline screeching at some seniors by the bar cart. They had just managed to keep her from mauling anyone over using the wrong glassware for mimosas when Tyler volunteers to bench press the couch, complete with the cheerleading squad and Caroline rushes over before she needs to do supernatural damage control. “They are sweet together.” Elena comments as they sip their mimosas.

“You said that about her and Matt as well.”

“And I meant it.” Elena sways a little on her feet, it’s clearly not her first drink. “At the time.”

Bonnie rounds on her friend. “Please tell me you’re not considering dating Matt again.” They had been cute the first time, but it clearly wasn’t working for them anymore.

“No!” Elena looks a little hurt by the accusation. “I’ve given up on dating guys here. I’ll try again in college. You on the other hand,” she wheels Bonnie to face where Kol is charming a bunch of sophomores “You have a perfectly yummy guy obsessed with you.” When Bonnie tries to hush her, she brushes it aside. “So what if he can hear us? Doesn’t make it not true.”

“He’s not obsessed with me. He just wants something from both of us.”

“No, he just will do anything to make you smile and gives you longing looks behind your back. This party is proof of that.” Elena was probably right. Bonnie had been ignoring Kol’s feelings for her for far too long. She just wasn’t sure if she returned them. If she was even capable of returning the feelings of a thousand year old immortal who fed on blood for substance. She should probably make it clear she wasn’t looking for a relationship while Elena’s life was still on the line. When she starts to tell her friend as much, Elena stops her. “He can hear you from anywhere in this house, and would probably like to hear it from you directly. So either tell him whatever you were going to tell me today, or save it for our sleepover tonight.”

“We are having a sleepover as well?” Bonnie asks. This day was turning out far better than she thought it would.

Carolien pops back up, putting her arms around both their shoulders. “If you two lightweights don’t pass out by then.” She shotguns her glass, which seems suspiciously free of juice. Bonnie and Elena both give her a judgmental look. “What? Kol says it helps with the cravings.” She shrugs. “So, tell me all about Bonnie’s squishy feelings for Kol.”

“There are no squishy feelings.” Bonnie says automatically, but it’s clear neither of her friends believe her. “And if there were, I would tell you two about it first. At our sleepover. Besides, you owe us an explanation regarding Tyler.” She gives her friend a pointed look.

“There’s nothing to explain. I’m just worried about his second full moon. The first was really rough on him.” Caroline seems cagey so Bonnie rounds on her.

“Tell me you didn’t stay with him while he turned.” Caroline refuses to meet her eyes. “Care! You could seriously, permanently die that way. One bite and it’s over, and we’ll have to put you out of your misery before you eat the town.”

“At least that explains why he’s been following her around like a puppy.” Elena mutters.

“He is not! And you can’t tell him about the whole werewolf bite thing, ok? He has enough to stress about.”

“And you don’t?” Bonnie shoots back. Was it too much to ask for her friends to put themselves first on occasion?

“I don’t!” Caroline protests. “He’s got the entire football team helping me with Founders Day preparations next week, so all my committee and event plans are well in hand.”

“You know that’s not what I was referring to, Care.” 

“Bonnie, it’s a party! Worry about my new vampirism tomorrow!” With that, Caroline went off to yell at whoever changed the playlist from her perfectly manicured list. Elena exchanges a look with Bonnie, then follows Caroline to make sure she doesn’t eat the offending person.

Bonnie and Elena are absolutely hammered by the time the party ends in the afternoon, so Caroline, possessing the superior vampire metabolism, drives them to Elena’s for their sleepover. Kol had offered to be the one to drive them home, but Bonnie had broken out in giggles at that and Caroline steered her away. She could no longer remember what had been so funny about it, but was glad for the intervention nonetheless. There were quite a few moments during the party where she had to stop herself from running her hands through Kol’s hair. And at least one occasion where she failed.

“Wow, you guys are making it really hard to pretend I don’t know you’ve been drinking.” Jenna says as they all stumble into Elena’s house.

“Sorry, Jenna,” Elena slurs.

Bonnie claps her hands together. “We should catch Jenna up on all the supernatural shenanigans”

Caroline eyes her critically. “Are you sure? It’s kind of a mood killer.” They both look at Elena, who seems to pout at the idea.

Jenna is curious now. “Is this a shared alcohol-induced hallucination or something? Because I remember you claiming Kol was a vampire when I drank too much at the Founder’s Party. Didn’t realize you had had as much as me that night.”

“No, Kol really is a vampire. And I’m a witch.” She can see Elena giving her the evil eye, but she’s still too drunk to care. “Care’s a vampire now too. Go on, show her.” She gestures toward her blonde friend. 

“No way, she’ll totally scream.”

“We’re just drunk Jenna. It’s a fun game we play. Don’t worry about it.” Elena desperately tries to get the situation back under control, and Bonnie relents. 

“Yeah, we are just kidding Jenna, don’t worry about it. Can you order us pizza?”

Jenna looks unconvinced, but seems glad for the topic change. “Yeah, I’ll get y’all some pepperoni.” She pulls out her phone and steps away to make the call.

They are huddled up in blankets by the time the pizza arrives, Caroline regaling them with her plans for the Founder’s Day floats. 

“I hate Founder’s Day.” Bonnie mutters, but it’s enough for Caroline to pick up on.

“Why?” Caroline had started drinking again when the pizza arrived, and was caught up with her and Elena, who was now snoring softly.

“Because they want me to celebrate Confederate soldiers all day. It’s gross.” Bonnie grouses, too inebriated to care if her friends will understand. She usually doesn’t say anything, their rejection or misunderstanding would hurt worse than her silence.

“Shit, you’re right. That is seriously gross.” Caroline sniffs. “Do you hate me for still loving the dresses though?”

“Nah, you rock the look.” Bonnie tells her seriously. “I just think this town could celebrate other occasions with all the pomp and circumstance. I do love the ridiculous number of parties we have.”

“Once I’m in charge, we’ll have even better parties,” Caroline says dreamily, and Bonnie laughs out loud.

“You already are in charge, Care! You practically run every committee worth being on in this town!”

Caroline adopts a fake offended tone. “I’m saving my best ideas for our senior year. Our prom night will be unforgettable.”

“It might be, if any supernatural evildoers show up.” They both break into giggles.

The night passes peacefully, and for the first time since Caroline turned, Bonnie can think of the future happily.

  
  


The Founder’s Day parade goes off without a hitch. Caroline apologized over and over, but it was too late to change the Confederate soldier float and the town elders blocked her every attempt. Bonnie’s just glad to get the day over with. The three of them have dinner at the Mystic Grill before the fireworks are supposed to start. Elena spends the whole time complaining about the arrival of uncle John, who claims to be her birth father. 

Tyler and Matt come up once they leave the grill, supposedly to hang out with all three of them, but they keep orbiting Caroline. Bonnie sighs, knowing that will end horribly for all involved. Kol joins them, with a rose and a kiss across her knuckles as he leads their group to the seats he saved. Her heart totally doesn’t flutter.

They listen to, or rather ignore in Kol’s case, the speeches preceding the fireworks. Kol is quite insistent that his family settled the area ages before any of the founding families had even heard of the place, and was intent on proving it to her. She pretends to hear the speeches with Kol’s breath in her ear, until something seems to tickle her skin. It almost feels like magic. That’s when she stands up suddenly, scouring the crowd for an unfamiliar face. She sees dark hair and a face that might belong to Isobel duck into the alley. “Isobel’s here” she whispers to Kol. “We need to leave. All of us.” She says just loud enough for all her supernatural friends to hear.

“I’ll grab her.” Kol says, before disappearing in a flash.

Bonnie didn’t think they should split up, but it’s too late to do anything about it, so she just grabs Caroline and Elena’s arms, knowing Tyler and Matt will follow. 

“Bonnie, where are we going?” Elena protests, struggling against her grip.

“Isobel’s here. I can’t see Caroline’s or Tyler’s parents. Something’s going down.” She pauses her march across the town square by the Mystic Grill alley. 

“Someone’s down there.” Caroline whispers. “They’re not moving.”

“Check on them.” Bonnie whispers back. “Carefully.”

Caroline, of course, flashes down there with her vamp speed. “It’s Kol!” She calls to the group at the top of the steps. “He’s not moving!” 

Her heart skips a beat. She doesn’t know what could have gotten the jump on Kol like that. That’s when Bonnie recognizes the prickling against her skin. “There’s another witch here!” she whispers to her friends “Caroline, get out of there, it’s a trap!”

But it’s too late, Caroline has already collapsed, whatever spell is on the area having triggered. “Caroline, no!” Tyler rushes forward, and grabs Caroline in his arms, but he staggers and collapses, much more slowly, a few steps away.

“Bonnie, Bonnie what do we do?” Elena tugs on her sleeve.

“I think I can undo the spell if I get close enough. That’s assuming it won’t affect me.”

Matt is determined when he answers. “I’ll go, we can test if it affects humans on me.”

“Matt, no!” Elena whispers, still afraid of being overheard. It turns out she was right to be worried, as they see a shadowy figure moving from the other end of the alley toward their friends with a stake.

“Do it Matt.” Bonnie commands. “Elena, stay by me, we don’t know this isn’t just a distraction.”

Matt cautiously goes down the stairs, only rushing once the figure raises the stake on Caroline. They grapple for a few moments, before Matt is able to push the man into the light.

“Uncle John?” Elena screeches, rushing down the steps. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“That’s ok, no one listen to the witch in charge.” Bonnie mutters to herself as she follows her friend.

“These creatures are dangerous Elena. Isobel’s helping me get rid of them.”

“It’s Isobel’s fault two of them are like that in the first place!” Bonnie snaps at him, and he seems genuinely surprised for a moment. “Now tell me who the witch is so I can force them to take it down.”

“There isn’t a witch here, I paid one to modify the Gilbert device so it knocks out supernatural creatures in a smaller radius for a longer period of time.”

“How’d you know it would work on Kol?” Bonnie tries to keep him talking while she looks for an opening. The usual witch aneurysm would likely kill a human, so she needs to come up with something else.

“Why wouldn’t it work on him?” John replies cautiously and Elena lets out a bitter laugh.

“Wow, Isobel really doesn’t tell you anything. Some birth parents I have.”

“This is for your own good Elena.” John begins, but that’s when Bonnie sees it. The Gilbert ring on his finger, the same one Alaric has and was in Emily’s grimoire. With a flick of her wrist, she throws John into a wall with her magic, where he slumps down, either dead or unconscious.

“Matt, grab Tyler and drag him out of the device’s radius. It was made for vampires so he should recover first. Elena, check John’s pulse before you call an ambulance.” Elena blanches at that. “He’s wearing the magic ring I told you about, so if that hit killed him he’ll wake up in no time at all, in which case we all want him in the sheriff’s custody.” Her friends follow her orders while she checks on Caroline and Kol. Neither seem to be breathing, but since breathing isn’t necessary for vampires she might not need to be too worried. It doesn’t look like John managed to harm either of them and she releases a sigh of relief.

Bonnie notices the tingling on her skin seems to be coming from Uncle John’s jacket and walks over to where Elena is calling an ambulance. Digging through his pockets, she pulls out a rectangular device and studies it carefully. She shoves enough magic in the device to break any enchantment, releasing a cloud of sparks that light up the alley.

It takes a moment or two, but Caroline and Kol slowly wake up. Matt is holding a groggy Tyler up by the top of the stairs. Kol bounds up to her. “I see you mastered the lesson on destroying other witches’ enchantments.” 

She forces herself to be serious and not match his tone. “I think we are even now, Kol.”

“You’d think that, wouldn’t you.” Kol muses. Bonnie wants to ask what he’s hiding, when Caroline comes to.

“Bonnie! I’m so sorry, I should have waited instead of rushing in!” She pulls her in for a bone crushing hug.

“It’s fine Care, seriously.” She pats her friend’s back from her awkward position. “Seriously, stop, you’re crushing me.” Caroline finally releases her.

Matt and Tyler join their group. “We should probably get going before the ambulance gets here for Uncle John” Matt comments, and suddenly they are all moving.

“I’ll be able to compel the man while he’s in the hospital, it should be hard for him to access vervain in there.” Kol supplies, and Bonnie is suspicious he is being helpful on the no-killing plan, but lets it be for now.

“Anyone still care about watching the fireworks?” Matt jokes, and they all groan. 

“Let’s just have a sleepover, for all of us.” Bonnie looks around the group of friends she’d give her life for, even Kol.

“My place is always open.” Elena pipes up, though she keeps glancing back at John as they walk.

They all pile in Caroline’s car. It’s a tight fit, but no one wants to separate after the near-death experience. Trudging up the stairs to Elena’s house, Bonnie performs a quick spell to check for any more surprises for the night. It’s only when she’s done that she notices the expensive envelope taped to the door. Her friends join her when she gives the all clear.

“What does the letter say?” Elena asks, craning her neck around Bonnie.

With shaking hands, she opens it.

_You are all cordially invited to Mystic Falls’_

_Masquerade Ball at the request of one_

_Klaus Mikaelson._

_Formal wear and masks are required._

_Save me a dance, love._

There was a fancy, if indiscernible, signature under the note.

Caroline’s the first to talk. “Ugh, did he seriously just invite us to the event _I’m_ planning?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this fic may have been inspired by the Bonnie segment of Jenny Nicholson's 2.5 hour TVD video. Feel free to yell about it with me in the comments.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus enters the picture just as negotiations begin with Elijah

The first thing Bonnie does is call Elijah Mikaelson.

“Please tell me it’s not too late to negotiate.” She says, before he can even perform a greeting.

“Of course not, though I must ask if something’s wrong.” Elijah’s voice is too calm.

“Nik sent them a letter!” Kol shouts gleefully at Bonnie’s phone. Funny, he had seemed worried before she called Elijah and even now, the glee didn’t reach his eyes.

It’s Caroline’s turn to crowd around the phone, though her words are much angrier. “He invited us to my own event! Who does your brother think he is?” 

“If I could just talk to Miss Bennett…” Elijah begins in his most patient voice. She uses the opportunity to step away from the others. “Niklaus is still in New Orleans, so he wasn’t the person to deliver your letter.”

“Are you sure?” Bonnie turns the envelope in her hands. It has all of their names on the outside in the same fancy script, even Matt and Kol’s, which surprised her. “He knew which of us would be headed to Elena’s tonight. It’s eerie.”

Elijah releases a long suffering sigh. “With either of my brothers, I am never sure. But I’ll be in town soon so we can get negotiations over with.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that.” It was time to face the music, Bonnie thought grimly.

The long promised negotiations take place at the dining table in Mikaelson Manor. Elijah sits on one end, Grams at the other. Grams is flanked by Bonnie and Elena, Elijah by Kol and Jane, who still sits on her laptop, looking very intent on taking notes. All the humans present have a slight tremor to their hands, a shakiness in their demeanor, except for Grams, who meets Elijah’s look steel for steel.

Grams had been appointed chief negotiator by their rag-tag little group, with Bonnie key support due to her rapport with both Mikaelson brothers, though mostly that referred to the fact that Kol seemed besotted with her. Jenna was caught up on everything going on, and agrees that Grams and Bonnie are their best shot. Bonnie attempts to match Grams’ steel, holding herself high and keeping her shaking hands under the table. She meets Kol’s eyes across the long table, remembering their conversation earlier that week.

_Kol kept excusing himself from their group conversations whenever the topic of negotiations came up, and seemed surprised when she mentioned it._

_“I didn’t want you to think I was playing both sides darling, spying on your planning and all that.”_

_She smiles bemused, having honestly not considered that was what he was doing. It was oddly sweet. “We play this right, and there won’t be any sides at the end of the day.” She hoped so, and from the look that flashed on his face so did he. He quickly schooled his expressions, however, at her next question._

_“What exactly do you and Elijah get out of all this anyway? It sounds like you don’t like Klaus very much.”_

_“Ah, not much. Sense of good will, feelings of enlightenment.”_

_Bonnie can see through his attempts at humor. “Don’t joke with me Kol, not about this.”_

_He sighs, looking very much a put out teen caught telling a lie. “Don’t worry about it, darling.” She attempts to protest and he cuts her off. “I swear to you Bonnie,” and the lack of a nickname makes her pause enough to let him finish. “I will do nothing that puts you or your loved ones in danger.”_

Bonnie wishes she could trust him now, looking at each other from opposite sides of a potential supernatural bloodbath. It worried her that she didn’t know enough about his motivations, but he had been so sincere when he promised her. Elijah interrupts her musings.

“I believe you already know our opening terms, but I shall state them again for the record.” Slight nod of the head at Jane before he continues. “We wish for Miss Elena Gilbert’s participation in a sacrificial ritual and both Bennett’s cooperation in assuring Miss Gilbert survives said ritual. Miss Gilbert is to stay human for the remainder of her natural life and will give weekly blood donations in such a manner that does not leave her incapaticated.”

“You forgot the financial assistance for Elena, any of her children, and protection for her family line” comes Grams’ smooth reply. “Those were the opening terms as communicated to us.”

“Of course, my mistake.” Elijah smooths out his suit jacket. “Are those terms acceptable?”

“No.” Grams is blunt and straight to the point. “Elena will give blood monthly, with exceptions allowed for pregnancy, illness, travel, and bereavement. Bonnie and myself will receive adequate compensation for this and any future magical assistance for either the Mikaelsons or Elena, in the form of our choosing at the time, be it monetary or magical. No one in or from Mystic Falls is to be harmed for the ritual or by any member of the Mikaelson family or their associates.” 

“While I can consider the first two terms, I must take issue with the third. As the Original family of vampires, all vampires are descended from us and could be considered our associates. Your terms are too broad.” 

“Anyone under orders then, whether compelled, freely followed, explicit or implied.”

Elijah’s face is still clearly unimpressed. “You can’t want to protect an entire town under such loose terms, Ms Bennett.”

Grams meets his unimpressed stare head on. “We haven’t even gotten to the protection part, I was just on the do-no-harm clause.”

“And what shall we expect in return?”

“Bonnie and I’s magical assistance regarding keeping Elena safe, and our bloodline’s assistance with keeping Elena’s descendants safe as well. Don’t give me that look, Elijah Mikaelson.” He was indeed, shooting her a disbelieving look. “You may be a thousand years old but I have the wisdom of the spirits. Surely even you can see how invaluable the Bennett line’s assistance would be in keeping your precious doppelganger bloodline safe.”

Elijah’s face is tight. “Very well. And what of your desired protection clause?”

“Elena’s family members, not including Isobel, will be extended the same protections as Elena herself, as well as a short list of friends. Bonnie has the list.” At her words, Bonnie produces the typed list of names from her bag and slides it down the table to Jane, who quickly types the list into her notes. “And before you ask, this will be in return for our assistance on spells to help Elena survive the ritual as human.”

Elijah’s eyes turn cold. “You ask too much.”

“I don’t ask more than your family is capable of.” Grams’ words are sharp, and Bonnie wonders what she’s heard from the spirits regarding the Mikaelsons. “And I already have contingencies prepared with the spirits that can disrupt the ritual, which seems to be your main goal. So I suggest you take our terms.” 

Bonnie starts at that reveal, Grams hadn’t told her about any contingencies. She can see Kol wince across the table and they share a commiserating look, before Bonnie remembers what they are there for. Grams and Elijah snipe back and forth, haggling over specifics, as she and Elena share looks of awe at Grams’ negotiating ability. Kol’s been uncharacteristically quiet this whole exchange and even now seems to be focused entirely on Bonnie. In fact, if she replays the meeting in her mind, he seems to have only been watching her. It’s a little unnerving, to say the least, but once she finally turns to face him she sees only genuine concern for her wellbeing. He quickly smooths his features into a smirk and yawns loudly, drawing everyone’s attention.

He tilts his chair back precariously, widening the smirk. “This is all well and good, but I think we’ve made all the progress we will tonight. So both of you either agree to the terms as they stand, or we reconvene tomorrow.” 

With great reluctance, both Elijah and Grams agree to terms, and they are all free to leave the table for the first time in hours. Bonnie and Elena stretch and head for the car ahead of Grams. They think they’re finally alone when Kol’s voice calls out from the front steps.

“Would this be a bad time to ask you once again on date?” He shouts across the driveway, casually leaned against the doorway.

“The worst!” She shouts back, laughing. Leave it to Kol to break the tension in his usual fashion. She remembers her sleepover with Elena and Caroline however, and their advice to be bold. “But I think we can make movie night into bowling night or something more date-like next week!”

He vamps speeds in front of her and she takes a step back in surprise. “Bowling? You really think so little of me? I’ll cook you the best meal you’ve ever had in your life, complete with wines from vintages long since dead.”

“Nah,” And she laughs at his shock. “I’m pretty sure you’re just aware I’m going to completely destroy you in bowling. Home cooked meals sound more like a third date activity, anyway.” Joy is radiating from both of them and Elena looks moments away from either clapping or crying.

“Bowling next saturday then, darling??”

“Next saturday it is.” Bonnie smiles back and she envelops him in a hug.

The future was looking up, Mikaelsons and all.

Kol’s cooking is just as astounding as he promised by the time of their third date. Bowling had gone great, even though she still couldn’t figure out if he let her win. It had taken him at least an hour to figure out all the rules and strategies, but after that she wasn’t sure he was faking being terrible at it. For their second date, they went hiking by the falls after school. Her human legs gave out before he even got winded, and he ended up carrying her piggy back up the rest of the way to the falls, but it was worth it for the view of the sunset.

Now it was their third date and he hadn’t so much as kissed her, though it was clear he expected her to make the first move. She was just working up her resolve.

“Is this not the best jambalaya you’ve had in your life?” Kol preens from the other side of the kitchen island, where he is preparing dessert.

“I can’t say I’ve had much creole cooking in small town Virginia,” she teases “but yes, your cooking is amazing. Which is weird for a person who doesn’t need to eat.” Her bowl was nearly empty, and she was considering if she would still have room for dessert if she finished it.

“I still can eat though, and well cooked food is one of life’s great pleasures, both in the preparation and consumption.” He was inspecting each macaron half thoroughly, before applying the filling in between, placing only those he deemed most worthy on the plate clearly intended for her.

“Tell me more about New Orleans.” 

“Well, I haven’t been back this century, so who’s to say how it’s changed. The food was always amazing, and I gather still is, and the parties! My family threw the best parties, in every century of New Orleans’ history, so we really need to step up our game for this one. If Nik leaves the place standing, that is.” He slides the plate of macarons toward her and waits for her to taste one, only continuing once she is happily munching away. “Nik’s adopted son Marcellus took over the city in our absence. Elijah and I fed Nik the information he needed to keep Marcel from disrupting the Harvest Ritual, which went off without a hitch, meaning all the sacrificed witches came back to life to continue on their merry lives. His assistance in their ritual meant he had the witches on his side for his war against Marcel, which as far as I know still continues.” The worry must show on her face, because he moves to reassure her. “My sources among the witches there say the vast majority of casualties are vampires belonging to Marcel’s side. Nik apparently threw a party for Marcel and ripped half his forces apart for the dessert course. But enough about my brother’s violent tendencies” he clapped his hands together, “Tell me what you think of the macarons.”

“They’re amazing,” she said through a mouthful of the stuff. She hurriedly swallows, then promptly coughs. He rushes over to soothe her back. She leans into his embrace as the coughing fit leaves her, with his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back. “I’d love to see New Orleans some time. Eat the food, meet the witches there.”

“I’ll take you.” He replies earnestly. “We can go wherever you want to go. I know some bog witches in Ireland as well that I think would interest you, as well as some covens in Eastern Europe who owe me some favors I’d be happy to cache in on.”

She turns more fully toward him and catches his face in her hands, her smile practically glowing. She leans in and their lips meet, a sweet chaste thing that when she pulls back leaves him reeling. “I’ll take you up on that.”

He stands still for a moment, before taking the bar stool next to her and grabbing a macaron from her plate. “When shall we go? For date number 4?” He wiggles his eyebrows at her and she laughs.

“No way, you might not care about school but I do. This summer, maybe.” It might be too soon to be planning to be together by then, but she’s got a good feeling about the two of them. “You can, however, be my date to the Masquerade Ball.”

He frowns, wrinkling his nose at that. “Ah yes, Niklaus’ party.”

“Don’t let Caroline hear you call it that. It’ll be fun. And we’ll all be fine. I’ve got you as backup.” She smiles and he hesitantly returns it. She could handle anything life threw at her.

  
  


Bonnie glides forward into the dance on Kol’s arm. “Remember, I’ll only be able to hear what you hear so long as we are touching, so Don’t. Let. Go.”

Kol rolls his eyes. “Remember who taught you that spell, Bon-Bon. Come now, mustn’t keep dear brother Nik waiting.” Matt looks distinctly uncomfortable escorting Elena behind them, but Caroline is glowing on Tyler’s arm in the rear. Bonnie feels a pang of sympathy for Matt, forced to take his ex-girlfriend to the dance while his most recent ex is there with his best friend.

“I don’t understand why you can’t just tell us what Klaus looks like.” Matt complains at Kol.

“Because my brother is fond of body switching spells. Besides, Nik gets nasty if not allowed to play his games.”

“You mean play with his food.” Caroline mutters, but thankfully the humans in the middle of the pack can’t hear it.

“Surely it won’t be too hard to spot the only person not from town, even if everyone is wearing masks….. Oooh.” Elena comments as they walk through the door, only to see a sea of people they’ve never met before doubling the population of Mystic Falls. Tyler and Matt swear in unison and Bonnie privately agrees with them. They all huddle in a circle by the drinks.

“How did he get so many people to attend?” Elena worries her bottom lip.

“I don’t smell any vampires besides you guys.” Tyler supplies.

Bonnie shoots Kol a hard look from her place on his arm. “He compelled an entire town’s worth of people to crash the party.” He merely shrugs, though his eyes are full of laughter. At her and her friends' expense, probably.

He seems to read her thoughts. “I am merely appreciating Nik’s theatricality.” He turns to the rest of the group. “Nik’s likely among the crowd, so be careful what you say and don’t refuse anyone a dance.” 

Right on cue, a tall east asian man comes up and bows to Elena. “May I have this dance?” Elena looks frightened, but Bonnie nods at her encouragingly. She’ll do anything to have her friend’s back through all this.

It’s harder than she thought.

Elena never has the same dance partner twice, and most of their friends seem to cycle through a few compelled humans of their own. Bonnie doesn’t get close enough to interrogate any of them, glued to Kol’s arm like she is. The mysterious dance partners seem to always steer her friends away from her on the dance floor, or melt into the crowd once their turn is done.

Thankfully, Caroline seems to take charge, in her usual fashion, of probing the compulsions, and Bonnie can hear it all.

“So, what brings you to Mystic Falls?” She flashes her best pageant smile at a balding man.

“Where are you from?” She asks a tall woman close to their age.

“Do you have any plans for the rest of the evening?” (Subtle, Bonnie thinks) Caroline winks at an attractive man ten years her senior.

The cycle repeats. Caroline starts accosting Elena’s dance partners as soon as they step away from the doppelganger, barraging them with questions while they dance with her. Tyler seems put out by the punch bowl, until Caroline glides over and asks him to keep a closer eye on Elena. From then on, he’s a man on a mission. Bonnie spends all her dances with Kol, glad his effortless dance skills mean they can move through the crowd with ease while her mind is on what she can hear.

“Excuse you?” Caroline is immediately hostile when a man steps into the middle of her dance (interrogation) with Elena’s latest partner. Bonnie gets a glimpse of a strong jawline and pouty lips, the rest obscured by a large mask, before Kol whisks her off in the opposite direction.

Bonnie focuses her spell on Caroline’s voice.

“You’re a curious little one, aren’t you?” The man’s voice begins in a smooth British accent. Caroline refuses to make eye contact, staring steadfastly over his shoulder. “Aren’t you going to ask me my name?”

She narrows her eyes at her dance partner. “It just seems to upset them when they can’t answer.” 

“You’re with that Lockwood fellow, correct?”

“We just started dating, yes. What’s it to you?” She tenses suddenly, before forcing herself to relax again. “None of the others have asked me a personal question. It’s always questions about Elena. You’re Klaus.” He doesn’t react at all, merely seems to laugh through his eyes. She sniffs for effect. “What do you care about Tyler?”

“I was warned that turning him into a hybrid would be a bad idea, which I assumed meant you would be a particularly vengeful thorn in my side, like Katerina. But now I’m not so sure.”

“So what, you’re debating whether to kill me now so you can add him to your slave army when the time comes without any interference?”

“That was the plan, yes. Though i prefer to keep my word when possible, it doesn’t hurt to have backup plans”

“And now?” Caroline needed to keep him talking so she could think of an escape plan. Some (small) part of her brain notices he is a phenomenal dancer, leading her through the steps with ease.

“Tell me, how close are you to puzzling out the limits of my compulsion?” He dips her dramatically at his words, and they simply stare at one another for a moment. He pulls her up to continue the dance.

“None of the compelled humans can say anything about themselves, and are only supposed to ask about Elena to certain people, mainly my friends and I. They all claim to be going home when the dance ends at midnight, repeated in those exact words. It’s creepy” she adds flatly.

“I take it you haven’t used compulsion much yet then. Tell me, how long ago did you turn?” 

“A few months ago, why?”

“And Tyler has been a werewolf for just as long, from the whiff of him. So I must ask, who did he kill?” She stares at him hard, unwilling to answer the obvious answer. “It’s a simple question Caroline, Who. Did. He. Kill?”

“Me.” she finally whispers. “He’s the reason I turned. He was driving the car when Isobel made us crash.”

“Awfully forgiving of you, to be dating him now after what he did.”

Caroline snaps at him, tired of his games. “What’s your point?”

“You’re just a more forgiving person than I expected from a potential roadblock to hybrid domination, is all.” He shrugs, though doesn’t meet her eyes. He’s hiding something, but she can’t tell what. He steps back smoothly, releasing her from the dance. “It appears our dance is over,” an understatement as he held her there for several songs worth of dances, “You did a lovely job arranging this dance, sweetheart. And I look forward to any other events guided by your steady hand.” With that, he disappears into the crowd.

  
  


Bonnie was pissed. Kol had let go of her hand in the middle of a spin, causing her to crash into a neighboring couple. He had done it the moment Klaus mentioned Katerina, seemingly threatening Caroline over the comparison. Kol disappeared in a flash before she could catch up, and she was left with human ears in a room with strangers and pounding music. She hurried over to Matt and Elena, who were seemingly allowed to dance with one another for the first time that night.

“Bonnie? Where’s Kol?” Elena drops Matt’s arms and meets her friend halfway.

“Pretty sure he just abandoned us. I need to find someone with supernatural hearing to amplify my spell so I can know what’s going on. Klaus is talking to Caroline” she replied grimly.

“I saw Tyler by the punch bowl.” Matt’s face is creased with worry as he leads the two girls over to Tyler. The poor guy still had feelings for Caroline. 

“Hey guys.” Tyler says glumly, a plastic cup destroyed in his grasp. “Caroline’s talking to some guy again. Hey!” he shouts, when Bonnie grabs his hand suddenly. Tyler’s hearing wasn’t good enough, she could barely make out where Caroline was, let alone what she was saying. “What’s going on Bonnie?”

“Bonnie says Caroline is talking to Klaus, and Kol ditched her before she could hear most of the conversation.” Elena supplies when Bonnie remains too focused on her hearing to answer the question. Tyler immediately starts to the dance floor. “Whoa Tyler, we don’t want to start a fight here. They’re just talking, she’ll be fine.” Elena attempts to reassure him.

“Are you seriously defending the guy who wants to sacrifice you in a blood ritual?” comes Tyler’s incredulous question.

“I’m not defending anyone, except for Caroline. She doesn’t need you to pull macho man testosterone fueled bullshit on her.” The two descend into bickering and Bonnie tunes it out, trying to use Tyler’s slightly advanced hearing to her advantage. It doesn’t appear anyone outside their group has noticed anything different about most of the ball’s attendees. It’s only when Tyler’s hand is wretched out of her grasp by the shoving match he gets into with Matt that she intervenes.

“Guys, cut it out!” She shouts, putting a little bit of magic in her words that makes them all wince. “She’s headed over here.”

Caroline slides into their group cheerfully, unmindful of the anger between Tyler and Matt. “Well, assuming no body double shenanigans, I now know what the bottom half of Klaus’ face looks like.”

“That was the real Klaus.” Bonnie calculates. “Kol disappeared after you started talking to him.”

“Makes sense,” Caroline muses. “The guy oozed danger.” Tyler crushed another cup at her words.

“Come on, let’s get out of here, we’ve done our part.” Bonnie informs her friends, and they all agree, heading for the door. She shoots a worried look at where she last saw Kol before following them outside.

  
  


Kol slams Klaus into the lockers in a deserted hallway. “Why haven’t you released Rebekah?” He snarls at his older brother, who merely smirks and shrugs him off. “Answer me Nik! Elijah and I set everything up so nicely for you, now undagger her as you promised.”

Klaus has the audacity to laugh in his face. “I cannot undagger Rebekah because she hasn’t been daggered for months.”

Kol’s face turns ashen. “What?”

“A little birdy told me it would be child’s play to find Silas, shove the cure down his throat, kill him, and destroy his remains so thoroughly that the cure could never be recovered from them. All I was missing was the key to the map, which Rebekah was happy to provide in exchange for her freedom.”

“But then why…” Kol trails off in shock.

“I also offered to uncompel her old paramour Stefan Salvatore in return for not contacting either you or Elijah.” Klaus’s eyes turn glittering. “I wanted to see what you two would do to win her back. And now that I’m happy with the results” he sweeps his arms wide as his announcement, “I’m prepared to offer you a boon.”

Kol turns wary, backing away from Klaus, keeping his eyes open for a potential dagger in the back. “What boon?”

“Come with me to destroy Silas. I know you ran with some witches who wished to destroy him, I thought you might like this opportunity to see their work through.”

“Rebekah wouldn’t just hand you the key, she wanted the cure for herself.”

“Rebekah’s whims depend on her lover of the moment. I came prepared by bringing Stefan Salvatore; since he’s a vampire she’s not currently interested in humanity. Now, will you be joining me or shall I destroy Silas and his blasted cure by myself?”

Kol’s still wary, circling Klaus under the guise of pacing. “How do I know you won’t dagger me the moment I leave with you?”

“How do I know you won’t try to shove the cure down my throat?” Klaus shoots back. He sighs, running his hand through his hair. “I choose you to accompany me because you are the only one of our siblings convinced Silas is a great threat. I’d like back up who has the right priorities. We aren’t leaving tonight, take some time to consider it.” Klaus starts to walk down the hallway, before turning to call out over his shoulder. “New Orleans was a rude awakening on building trust with what family I have, consider this an overture.”

Kol stands there for several minutes. He knows he should rejoin Bonnie. But what exactly is he going to tell her?

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rebekah comes to town, with a Salvatore in tow

Bonnie hadn’t heard from Kol in the week since the ball and was well passed worried. She was just telling Elena and Caroline about it at the Grill (Elena shared her concerns and Caroline thought they were better off without any Mikaelsons around) when a blond girl close to their age approaches them.

“Well aren’t you lot cosey?” The woman’s accent, similar to Kol’s and the rest of the Mikaelson’s, immediately sets Bonnie on edge. The blonde picks up on her unease, setting herself down in an empty chair while saying. “Now, no need for a witchy migraine, Kol asked me to look after you all when he stopped in New York on his way north. I was just a little slow getting here.” She shrugged, as if she could hardly be bothered to follow his request.

“I take it you’re Rebekah.” Elena says cautiously and the Original vampire merely gives her a look that screams ‘duh’.

“Great, another Mikaelson” Caroline bemoans, placing her head in her hands dramatically.

Bonnie has different priorities than her friends. “You want to explain where Kol is?”

“Not really.” Rebekah inspected her flawless nails, “I don’t usually like cleaning up my brothers’ messes. Though it’s usually Nik’s fault.” She looks thoughtful for a moment “Though in this case, I think the blame can easily be shared between the two of them.”

Bonnie was about to badger her with questions anyway, when a new guy approaches their table. “Rebekah, I couldn’t find…….” he trailed off as he approached, staring at Elena. “I couldn’t find that thing you wanted.”

“Well, that _thing_ was a distraction so I could introduce myself first. This is Elena Gilbert, yes she looks like Katherine, no I will not forgive you for sleeping with her.” Rebekah turned back to the table as if she hadn’t just made the strangest declaration any of them had ever heard. “Small children who are beneath me” and god, the balls on this woman to say that while looking their age, “This is Stefan Salvatore. We dated in the twenties and are currently re-exploring our connection. He’s from your sorry little town.”

“You’re a vampire?” Elena asks Stefan, looking past Rebekah. He nods. “And you knew Katherine?” He nods warily again. “Bonnie’s the only one of us to have met her.”

Caroline snorts. “If by met, you mean catch her climbing Elijah Mikaelson like a tree, then sure.”

“Caroline!” Bonnie hisses at her friend. Stefan looks absolutely stricken at the news.

“I didn’t know she was alive.” He said stiffly.

Rebekah's face flashes with an emotion Bonnie isn’t quick enough to identify. “Did I forget to mention that?”

“Pretty sure you forgot to mention a lot of things, Rebekah” Stefan grumbled as he takes a seat beside her, though they don’t know him well enough to know if it’s good-natured or not.

“Yes, well anyway.” Rebekah clapped her hands together once to grab their attention. “I’ll be taking Kol’s place as misfit guardian while he’s occupied, so integrate me in your pathetic little friend group to make this easier.”

“EXCUSE YOU?!?!” Caroline is not having it, but Bonnie has bigger fish to fry.

“What exactly is Kol occupied with?”

Rebekah gives her a hard stare. “You know my brother Niklaus, right?” They nod, Caroline ruefully, and she continues. “It appears Elijah and Kol’s grand plan was to feed Nik information to keep him away from Mystic Falls chasing down the various other demons that plague our family. Nik took care of our father Mikael within a week, I’m sure you all noticed when Wickery Bridge burned down this summer. Nik’s work.”

Bonnie wants to ask how the bridge was connected to Mikael, but was sure without Rebekah telling her that ‘took care of’ meant ‘killed for all time.’

Rebekah continued, unmindful of their reactions. “Then, they assumed Nik spent all his time trying to reclaim New Orleans from Marcel, but a few months ago he undaggered me, found Stefan and assigned him the task of getting me up to speed on this century.”

“But why?” Bonnie interrupts. “Why would he undagger you? Kol said it was hell to convince Klaus not to dagger him again.”

“I was getting there witchling” Rebekah lets out an irritated huff and Stefan gives her an apologetic smile. “I possessed a certain key to the map for the cure for immortality from an old flame. Nik, of course, wanted to destroy the blasted thing so it can never be used against him. We came to an agreement, and I happily left to explore New York’s fashion week with Stefan in tow.” Rebekah seems quite satisfied with her story, but Bonnie can only see the parts she left out. Like what happened to Kol.

Stefan picked up on that and decided to continue the story. “Klaus and Kol found us in New York a few days ago. Apparently, Kol was the one who compelled me to stay away from Mystic Falls when he moved here, so he needed to undo the compulsion or I wouldn’t be able to accompany Rebekah here for at least another hundred years.” He grimaced at that. Bonnie gave him a stare that suggested he needed to get to the point before she witch-migrained him. “They were on their way to the burial location of Silas, the first immortal, to destroy him and the cure along with him.”

“So Kol ditched me at the dance so he could go on a buddy road trip with Klaus?” Bonnie is incredulous. She had expected more from Kol, even if now she thought she shouldn’t.

“Don’t pout, it’s unattractive.” Rebekah admonished her. “And you’re not the first witch Kol’s fallen in with, he mentioned a group he ran with centuries ago who made it their life’s work to force Silas to take the cure. He owed it to them to finish what they started.”

“And the reason he couldn’t have just told me any of this?”

“Well that, is because he’s a wanker.” Rebekah sighs. “All my brothers are, really. Even Elijah, though you have to know him longer to figure that out.”

She clapped her hands together. “Now, this appears to be the only restaurant in town, so do inform me what passes as edible.”

Rebekah was showing up everywhere they went; only the high school was safe from her. Until she found out only students could attend the upcoming 60s Decade Dance, and compelled herself into the school. She managed to force her way onto the cheerleading team as well, despite Caroline’s best efforts to block her. There was only so much they could do, and a simple thing like cheerleading wasn’t worth getting in a fight with an Original vampire over, as Bonnie tried to explain to Caroline many times. She usually begrudgingly accepted the fact. Usually.

It didn’t prevent the occasional bitch-off between the blondes, with both testing to see who would break the peace treaty first. Bonnie usually let them at it, she had her hands full with Elena, who kept mysteriously ending up in the same place as Stefan Salvatore when no one else was around. He had enrolled in their school as well, following Rebekah like a dutiful puppy. But he and Elena seemed drawn to each other and it set Bonnie on edge. Sure, she wanted her friend to find a nice guy, and Stefan seemed to fit the bill, even if he was a bit broody, but Rebekah Mikaelson’s man was not the way to go. No matter how many times he insisted they weren’t together.

The three girls were having a sleepover night, one thankfully Rebekah-free, with Jenna chaperoning at the Gilbert place. “So I’ve got the juiciest bit of gossip for you guys.” Caroline plumped her pillows next to Bonnie.

“Well, don’t hold out on us. And who’s your source?”

“Ok, so it’s not so much gossip as I heard Rebekah call Stefan something that reminded me of one of Kol’s vampire 101 lessons, but it’s juicy.” She looked at her eager audience, pausing for effect. “Stefan was a famous serial killer in the early 1900s, the Rippah of Monterey” she attempts an old-timey accent for it. “Apparently, he’s always on and off human blood, and when he’s on, he’s a mass murderer.” Caroline doesn’t seem to notice Elena shrinking in on herself because she continues. “He’s only on that bunny blood diet he tried to sell me because he’s basically the vampire equivalent of an alcoholic.” 

“He’s a good guy, Care.” Elena complains. “If he has an addiction issue it’s not his fault.”

“Yeah, except most addicts don’t rip people apart so thoroughly they have to piece the bodies back together.” 

“You aren’t hanging out with him, are you Elena?” Bonnie asks, and her friend merely looks guilty. “Elena! It sounds like he’s dangerous, not to mention he is so thoroughly entrenched with Rebekah he lives with her.”

“That’s not true! He lives with his uncle at the Salvatore Boarding House!”

“Stefan’s too old for Zach to be his uncle, he’s got to be a nephew or something. Maybe even a grandson.”

“Stefan didn’t have kids before turning.”

“And how do you know? How do you know any of this Elena?” Bonnie was growing increasingly worried for her friend. Rebekah spoke of Stefan’s ripper days with fondness, even if the man himself didn’t. And it was Rebekah they needed to worry about.

“We’re just friends Bon,” Elena’s voice is exasperated. “There’s nothing wrong with being friends with the guy.”

“Except that he’s a homicidal maniac.” Caroline butted in.

Elena’s response is acquisitory. “Oh yeah? And what’s your diet been lately, Caroline?” 

“Blood bags! You guys know this!” 

Something is off in Caroline’s response that Bonnie can’t help but question. “I thought Kol was your hook up, what have you been doing since he disappeared?”

“It’s not a big deal” Caroline begins pleadingly, “but Matt offered to help me get through the week a couple times. No big deal.”

“Caroline!” Both her friends gasp in shock. “What were you thinking? You could have killed him!” 

“Have some faith, Bon. And it’s just until I work up the courage to ask Rebekah for her source or Kol comes back.” Bonnie shakes her head, no wonder Matt’s been a little wobbly since the ball. 

“Caroline, what does Tyler think of this?” The vampire in question just looks confused by Elena’s question. “Stefan said blood sharing can be sexual to vampires, does Tyler think you're cheating?”

“What! No! It’s just a little feeding Elena, god.” Caroline’s face is turning red. “Just because the Ripper of Monterey gets off on eating people doesn’t mean I do!”

“He’s not a Ripper!” Elena stands up to shout, just as Jenna comes into the room, bearing popcorn.

“Anyone want to explain the latest supernatural nonsense to me?” Jenna was still uncomfortable with everything they had told her about the Hellmouth their lives had become, but she did her best to look out for the kids just like she did in other aspects of their lives.

Caroline has a snarky reply. “Elena’s been flirting with Rebekah Mikaelson’s serial killer boyfriend.”

“He’s not a serial killer!” Elena is still standing.

“But you have been flirting with him?” Jenna begins cautiously.

“Maybe a little.”

“Oh honey, you never want to be the other woman, trust me.”

Elena turns contemplative. “There’s just something that draws us together. I can’t explain it.”

Jenna places the popcorn on the coffee table before taking a seat on the couch. “You don’t need to explain it, you need to run from it. Like I did with Logan, and like I did with Ric.”

“You and Alaric broke up?” Bonnie was genuinely surprised to hear the news.

“Just because I don’t blame you guys for not telling me about supernatural stuff, doesn’t mean I can’t blame my then-boyfriend for not warning me his psycho ex wife was in town.” She snorted, grabbing a handful of popcorn and stuffing it in her mouth. “Men suck.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice.” Bonnie muttered, and Caroline shot her a look of sympathy. She still wasn’t happy that Kol hadn’t bothered to contact her in the two weeks since he abandoned her at the ball, but she wasn’t going to take it all lying down. She was a Bennett, dammit, and that meant no man could walk all over her, no matter how cute.

Her thoughts had clearly drifted, because by the time she came back to the conversation they were talking about Caroline and Tyler.

“He’s just the sweetest thing, I really think turning was good for him the way it was for me.”

Bonnie’s curious now. “You think turning into a vampire was a good thing?”

“Yeah, I mean,” Caroline munches happily on some popcorn, “vampirism definitely amplified all my insecurities, but it also gave me the means to control it. I’m not a fan of the bloodlust, but I have control over that the same way I have control over my more neurotic tendencies.” Bonnie gives a disbelieving noise. She’d seen Caroline’s ‘control’ over her neuroses first hand when she had been planning the Masquerade Ball. It was barely contained. Caroline obviously caught her train of thought. “I’ve made progress, Bonnie! Lots of personal growth and all that.”

She holds up her hands in surrender “I didn’t say anything.”

“Mhmhhm.” Caroline is still rightfully suspicious, but moves topics anyway. “Tyler definitely got the short end of the stick thought, I would hate to go through what he does every month.”

“You’re not still staying with him, are you Care?” Elena’s mother hen tendencies were coming out full force. “You could seriously get hurt that way.”

“Rebekah mentioned she knew of the cure for a werewolf bite though.”

“Like we need to owe anything more to the Mikaelsons,” Bonnie says darkly.

“Yeah, she only brought it up when she was asking about the Ball.” Caroline chewed thoughtfully. “She was acting funny about it too, like she knew some grand secret about it I didn’t and found the whole thing hilarious.” She wrinkles her nose. “And then treated me to a lecture on how I’m not good enough for any of her brothers out of nowhere.”

“Really?” Bonnie’s curious again. “She’s never given me that kind of talk.”

“Maybe she thinks Kol’s pulling a Logan and never coming back.” Jenna sees Bonnie’s face and quickly apologizes. “Sorry, Bonnie, I’m sure the two of you can work things out.”

“I don’t see how. It would be one thing if he was just gone a week, but it’s been longer than that now with still no word. I’m actually worried about him.” Bonnie wipes a tear away. “I know that’s stupid, he probably just ghosted me.”

Caroline and Elena pile on top of her in a hug. “We’ll get to the bottom of it either way, ok Bon?”

“Yeah,” Elena nods besides her, “We’ll always have your back.”

“Thanks guys,” Bonnie hugs her back, uncaring if a few tears flow from her face.

Bonnie got a frantic call from Caroline late one Friday night. “There’s another vampire in town” came her low whisper through the phone.

“What? Where are you?” Bonnie grabbed her purse, determined to get to Caroline's location as quickly as possible.

“Some jerk just tried to compel me into making out with him!” Caroline hissed. “I told him to get lost, I had a boyfriend. I think he just assumed I’m on vervain, but he looked pissed and now I’m afraid to leave the Grille.”

“I’m on my way, don’t hang up the phone. Try to keep an eye on this guy if you can.” Bonnie said, already starting her car. It would be a major problem if there was another vampire in town. The Mikaelsons were supposed to deal with these kinds of things to uphold their end of the bargain, but she didn’t trust Rebekah the way she trusted Kol. The way she _used_ to trust Kol, she amended in her mind.

She texts Alaric before she pulls out of the driveway. It couldn’t hurt to have the vampire hunter check the Grille out, even if he was inexperienced. She and Caroline chat while she drives, apparently the blonde was hanging out in the Grille’s bathroom to avoid tall, dark, and creepy. Caroline admitted the guy was handsome, but her creep senses were going off way before he tried to compel her. Bonnie coaxed her into leaving the bathroom, but Caroline didn’t see the guy at the bar anymore.

Bonnie finally pulled up to the Grille, and met Caroline outside of it. “I asked the bartender and apparently the guy left with Alaric.”

“What? Then why hasn’t he been answering my texts?” Bonnie frantically starts searching the area around the Grille.

“Why do you have our history teacher’s number?” Caroline sniffs.

“For scenarios exactly like this Care,” Bonnie pauses, looking down the dreaded alley. “Is there something there?”

“Ew, I don’t want to go down the alley I almost died in.”

Bonnie proceeds cautiously down the steps. “Care, we need to see if he’s down there.”

Caroline flashes down in front of her friend, then flashes right in front of her face. “It’s Alaric’s body.” She whispers. They hurry down the remaining steps together. “I think he’s been drained of blood.” 

“We’ll have to take him somewhere until he wakes up,” Bonnie whispers back. “Can you do a quick check of the vicinity for the vampire?”

“Be right back!” Caroline disappears instantly.

Bonnie checks Alaric’s pulse and sighs. It would be so much easier to call Kol. She shakes her head; that isn’t a productive line of thinking.

Caroline pops back up. “Ok, I circled the block and didn’t see anyone, or any cars I didn’t recognize.” She hoists Alaric up with her enhanced strength. “Where do you want me to put the body.”

“I guess we’ll have to take him to my house. Your mom would ask too many questions and he and Jenna broke up, so Elena’s is out.”

“Ugh, he reeks of alcohol.” Caroline complains as she puts him in the back of Bonnie’s car. “Why did we have to adopt the drunk teacher to our group?”

“He’s out again if he’s not with Jenna” Bonnie replies absent-mindedly. “We just can’t leave him like this though.”

Grams is less than pleased to have a dead body on her couch.

Alaric finally wakes up the next morning, and immediately asks if they have any bourbon. “No, but you can describe the vampire who did this to you.” Bonnie sits in the chair across from Alaric’s position on the couch.

“It’s the bastard who killed my wife.” 

“We’ve already established that Isobel is a vampire from all the times she has tried to kill us, and the time she succeeded in killing Caroline. So try again.”

“It was the vampire I saw feeding on Isobel, before I knew she turned, when I assumed she was dead.”

“Do you know his name?” Bonnie needed Alaric to give her something useful to spearhead her investigation with.

“No.” He shook his head. “I don’t know anything except his face.”

Bonnie goes to leave the living room. “Ok, well you can sleep off your hangover somewhere else.” Alaric was only so useful, and Jenna was someone she cared more about having her back. He groans but complies, filing out of the house before pausing.

“You haven’t seen my phone anywhere, have you?” She shakes her head and he sighs. “Guess I’ll go check by the Grill.”

Bonnie hasn’t made any progress by the time school rolls around on Monday, and goes through her classes half-heartedly. She should probably tell Rebekah about the mystery vampire in town, because Caroline is refusing to talk to the other blonde and someone’s gotta do it, but she hesitates. She’s pretty sure the Mikaelson’s will kill the interloper, whoever he is, and she’s still wary of that herself. She knows they consider valuing human life as beneath them, and Bonnie hasn’t decided on whether she values vampires the same as humans, besides Caroline of course.

Her musings are interrupted when she reaches her car after school. “You must be the Bennett witch I’ve heard so much about.” Someone dangles a phone in her face, with her last text to Alaric lighting up the screen. She slowly turns around to face the man. He’s as handsome as Caroline described, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes, but she was also right in saying the guy set off the creep alarm big time. He was crowding in her space, and she raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him. “I need you to do something for me.”

“Why would I help a strange vampire who tried to compel my friend into sleeping with him and drained my history teacher dry?”

“No one was hurt, based on both their attendance at school today.” He shrugged, then let out a sigh, seemingly put out. “Besides, I’m not a total stranger, I believe you are acquainted with my brother, Stefan.” He leered at those words.

“Yeah, I don’t want Stefan in my town either, but you at least I can ask to leave. So. Leave.” She punctuates her point with a witch migraine, and he staggers back. “I have my hands full with all the vampires already in town, thank you very much.”

He recovers much quicker than she expected, flashing into her space again. “See, that’s not going to work, seeing as I had a deal with your ancestor Emily, and it’s time to pay up.” He notices the chain around her neck, carefully lifting the amulet out of her neckline. “So that’s why I couldn’t find it in the Lockwood house.” He mutters before fixing her with those piercing eyes. “That necklace is mine, I’ll be needing it back now.”

She shoves him off, but he barely moves. “It was a gift from a friend and you can’t have it.”

“A friend. Right.” His voice is full of disbelief. “That’s what it sounded like at the sleepover, that this Kol is just a _friend_.

“How did you….” Bonnie stammers, feeling afraid for the first time.

“Your blonde guard dog isn’t very good at her job, always sneaking away to be with my brother, not that he’ll have her obsessed as he is with Katherine’s shadow.”

“The two of you knew Katherine” She begins cautiously. This guy was seconds away from breaking her spine.

“Knew her?” Damon, she remembered his name was, is incredulous. “She was the love of my life. And now she’s trapped in a tomb, has been for a century and a half.” He grabs her upper arm at his words. “You’re going to help me free her.” There’s a maniacal look in his eyes and Bonnie begins to hyperventilate. She needs to get control of her breathing if she’s going to witch-whammy him, but she can barely stay upright as he drags her toward his car.

There’s a bone-chilling snap, and he drops to the ground beside her with a broken neck, letting go of her arm in the process. Bonnie scrambles to her feet, looking up at the blonde Original who’s glowering at the body with distaste. Caroline comes running up, Elena in tow. “I grabbed Rebekah as soon as I saw him, I didn’t think I’d be able to take him alone.”

“Never mind all that,” Rebekah snaps at them as she turns Damon’s body over to look at his face. “This is Stefan’s horrid brother Damon. There’s no way he should have been able to enter Mystic Falls in the first place.”

Elena responds from her place hugging Bonnie “What are you talking about?”

“Kol assured me that he and Elijah compelled this miscreant. The only way our compulsion can be broken is when daggered. So either one or both of them have been stuffed back in those infernal coffins by Nik.”

“You mean…?” Bonnie trailed off, hope and horror in her voice.

“It appears my idiot brother didn’t heartlessly abandon you. He’s in trouble.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rescue mission is hatched

Rebekah had Stefan haul his brother to the mansion once he caught up with their little group.

“Be a dear and put him in the basement, Stefan” she called out as they entered the manor.

Stefan paled. “That’s not a basement, it’s a dungeon.”

“Yes, well whatever you want to call it. I’m sure my brothers had good reason for keeping yours out of town, so we’ll need to interrogate him to find out which of my brothers was responsible for compelling him in the first place.” She directs him down the stairs to what used to be a wine cellar and starts chaining Damon up.

“Rebekah, you can’t seriously want to torture my brother.” Stefan is shaking.

She rounds on him. “You are welcome to try and get him to talk without violence, but know this Stefan.” She got inches from his face, staring him down, “I will do whatever it takes to keep my family safe. You have an hour from when he wakes up.” She turns on her heel and leaves him alone with his brother’s chained body.

  
  


Bonnie is already rummaging through Kol’s room when Rebekah leaves the basement. “Did you find what you need for the locator spell?” She asks the witch.

“I think so, though objects with a stronger connection should help break through any concealment spells in place on the coffins.” She looks up at the blonde Original. “Any suggestions?”

“His hairbrush, most likely. He’s incredibly vain” Rebekah sniffs. Bonnie dutifully grabs it from the nightstand and starts chalking the floor by Kol’s bed.

“I know it’s a long shot, but did you try calling either of them?” Bonnie says as she preps the spell. “Caroline’s mom is running Kol’s number right now, but I’m betting it’s out of service. Any luck with Elijah?”

“Damn,” Rebekah mutters, too low for Bonnie to hear. She hadn’t adjusted as well to this century as she thought if she forgot about cell phones so quickly. She pulls up Elijah’s number first. It rings and goes to voicemail. 

She curses and redails. On the last ring, someone picks up and a woman’s voice comes through the phone. “And to what do we owe this pleasure, Rebekah?”

“Katerina” Rebekah grinds her teeth together. “Where is my brother?”

“I don’t know, he was supposed to meet me a week ago, I just tracked him to this location. Was considering whether to call you or skedaddle before Klaus sprang his trap.”

Bonnie looks up from where she’d been chanting. “Have her grab something personal I can track with.”

Katherine could hear Bonnie’s request through the phone. “I can do that, meet you in Mystic Falls?” She hangs up without another word, and Rebekah seethes. The last thing she needed was her brother’s doppelganger obsession in town. 

She looks at the witch, face set with determination. “He could have still abandoned you, you know.” Bonnie chants louder, refusing to meet Rebekah’s eyes. “If Kol wasn’t the one to compel Damon, then he could have just skipped town once I took over babysitting duties. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s run out on family. Or friends.”

Bonnie finally pauses her chanting and gives a hard look to the Original. “I know that, ok?” She snaps before taking a calming breath. “I know he could have just ditched me. But I don’t like giving up on people, so I won’t give up on him without proof.” She smooths out the map she has in front of her. “Now how about a little privacy so I can actually perform the spell?”

Rebekah almost unleashed a string of threats at the witch’s gall, but held her tongue at the last moment. She could begrudgingly see what Kol saw in the teen, he had always liked those willing to stand up to his family. She shut the door with a slam, just for added effect, and went to check on Stefan.

  
  


Damon stirs and Stefan jumps up from the spot he was keeping silent vigil. “What the hell happened to me?” Damon croaks, before taking a better look at his surroundings. “Why haven’t you gotten me out of here Stefan?”

“Trust me, that would go worse for both of us if I tried.” He reaches out as if to touch his brother, but snatches his hand back at the last moment.

“Stefan” Damon’s lead lolls to one side. “I can get Katherine back. I just need that annoying little witch’s help. You can keep the new version, and I’ll get Katherine out of the tomb.”

“Katherine’s not in the tomb Damon.” Stefan’s voice nearly breaks at his words. “She was never dead, or trapped, or anything like that.” His voice rises to nearly a shout. “She never cared where either of us were, she’s been shaking up with a Mikaelson for months now!”

“Who the hell are the Mikaelsons?” Damon still sounds worse for wear.

“This is their house. Rebekah and Klaus knew me in the twenties.”

“And now you’re helping some old buddies from your Ripper days torture me. Very brotherly.” He pierces Stefan with a hard stare. “You want to tell me what’s really going on? Because there is no way I held a candle for a woman who wasn’t even there for a century and a half.”

“Well, she’s on her way, so you’ll be able to see her betrayal for yourself soon enough.” Rebekah’s imperious voice comes floating from the stairs before she glides in front of the pair. “We just need you to tell us which of my brothers compelled you, then I’ll compel you to stay out of town myself and send you on, no harm, no foul.” She looks at Stefan. “Your time is up, I got impatient.”

“Vampires can’t be compelled.” Damon complained. “Hell Stefan, what has your girlfriend been drinking?”

Rebekah grabs his face, drawing blood with her nails. She stares deep in his eyes. “You will describe the vampire who compelled you to stay away from Mystic Falls.”

Damon merely chuckles. “Nice try, but I’ve been guzzling vervain since that spell on me broke, princess. You won’t get anything from me.” Rebekah tightens her grip, rivers of blood flowing down his face. 

“When did it wear off, Damon?” Stefan pleads. The day Damon begrudgingly gives is almost two weeks ago. Rebekah looks alarmed for the first time, stepping back from Damon to wipe the blood off her hands onto her handkerchief.

“I’ll check on Bonnie, Kol and Elijah were together that day, so it’s likely both of them have been daggered.” She pats Stefan’s shoulder almost absentmindedly. “Be a dear and question him more thoroughly. I’ll be back to check your progress.”

Bonnie was absolutely ransacking Kol’s room. She would normally be uncomfortable just being in there, but desperate times called for desperate measures and she needed a grimoire he had mentioned. She had Caroline pouring through the volumes in the library for the right spell, something to break through the concealment spell Klaus had placed on the coffins. There was no way Kol was in the bottom of the Atlantic right now, or there’d be hell to pay.

She slid under his bed with a curse. Why did he have to be such a packrat? And surely the few weeks he had been gone weren’t enough for the dust to get this bad? She grabs as many books as she can from under his frankly enormous bed, disappointed to find half of them are old-fashioned encyclopedias. 

Tears had threatened to overtake her the first time she performed the locator spell, overwhelmed by the idea that Kol was beyond her reach. She still wasn’t sure if she’d kiss him or smack him when she got her hands on him again. 

Caroline comes into the room, slurping on a blood bag. “I found Kol’s stash! And there’s a couple grimoires in languages I don’t recognize for you to check out downstairs.”

Bonnie dusts herself off to follow Caroline downstairs. “Good, now you can stop snacking on Matt.”

“It was one time!” Comes Caroline’s grumble. “Ok, five times” she amends at Bonnie’s disbelieving look.

Rebekah meets them when they are downstairs, pouring through the remaining grimoires. There was a strange kinship they felt with the Original, who seemed to be more willing to work with them now that more was on the line.

“It appears both Elijah and Kol have been daggered, based on the dates in question.”

Caroline can’t help but needle the other blonde. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to leave Damon’s questioning to his own brother?”

“Stefan spent enough time with me and Nik in the 20s, he knows the price of failure” is her grim reply. That seems to shut Caroline up for the moment. “Though I really should put you back on doppelganger guarding duty.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Rebekah’s right” Bonnie turns to her friend. “We shouldn’t leave Elena alone.”

Caroline continues to be chipper in her response “How about I just bring her here?”

“Please do, I want to see the look on her face when Katerina arrives.” Rebekah smirks heavily.

Katherine arrived the next day, bearing a suitcase full of items stolen from Elijah’s penthouse, plus several of her own bags. Bonnie had fallen asleep on the floor of Kol’s room, performing spells throughout the night. Someone must have wrapped a blanket around her, because she woke up comfier than when she passed out. Caroline was banging on the door half past ten, based on the clock on Kol’s wall. “Hey, Katherine’s here with fresh spell ingredients! Get out here, she’s freaking me out!”

Bonnie grumbles from her spot on the floor, until Caroline hauls her up. “Dammit Bonnie, you should have gotten some rest last night.” She attempts a response, but it comes out sleep slurred and Caroline grouses at her. “You were up until at least sunrise, don’t give me that. You know you're our powerhouse in this rescue operation, we need you fully functional.”

They arrive downstairs to find Kol’s fake guardian, Jane, in a stare off with Elena’s double, Elena looking frantic to the side.

“You could have called off Isobel before now, I know she’s your underling.”

The funhouse mirror of Elena shrugs. “I lost track of her, buried as I was in Elijah’s bed.” Jane seethes and Katherine seems delighted. “Didn’t realize you thought you were a rival for his affections.”

“I’m not and I don’t want to be.” Jane grinds out. “Isobel is responsible for turning Tyler and Caroline, exactly what I was trying to avoid!”

Rebekah swoops into the room then with a glare for both women, fully ignoring Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie. “Yes, I think it’s time you explain your role in my brothers’ plot.”

Jane eyes them all warily. “I had, let’s call them visions, of a potential future for the inhabitants of Mystic Falls. I was able to use the information in them to free Kol from his coffin, and he and Elijah decided to feed some of my information to Klaus to keep him from interfering with their infiltration of the town.”

“That’s not all, tell the rest of it.” Rebekah has put on her courtly airs again.

“I went behind their backs to try and get Rebekah freed by telling Klaus about Silas. Somehow in the conversation, I must have let slip that he and Caroline are _involved_ in my visions.” She shoots Caroline an apologetic look. “I’m really sorry about that.”

Caroline’s gone absolutely still with all the eyes on her. She seems to snap out of it with a vengeance though. “I’ve talked with the guy once, ok? And it doesn’t seem like the visions are that reliable if they can’t tell us where to look now, anyway.” Rebekah turns away, seemingly satisfied by her pronouncement, but Katherine has a glint in her eye that suggests she’s up to something. Elena just looks hurt.

“I don’t care about any of this.” Bonnie snaps. “Just give me the stuff for the locator spell, and put your lifetimes of experience into translating the grimoires for the spell I need.” She addresses the elder vampires before turning to her friends. “Care, take Elena home and both of you _stay there_.”

“I’m not leaving you here with _her_.” Elena shoots a glare at her double and Bonnie wonders what she missed while she was out.

Bonnie drags her friends into the parlor while the older women continue their glare-off. “Listen, there is no way I’m letting you guys get hurt trying to rescue two vampires.” Caroline seems affronted at that. “You know what I mean, Care. Rebekah and Katherine will be better in a fight, as powerful as they are; I’d just be worried about the two of you, and I can’t risk the distraction.”

“Let us stay while you search for them, at least. As moral support.” Caroline and Elena look at her pleadingly and she relents. It would be good to be surrounded by friends and not Rebekah and Katherine, if only for a little while longer. 

Jane comes into the room then. “Rebekah and Katherine are translating the grimoires you left out, but Rebekah insists that the manor is more secure than Elena’s place. She’s setting Stefan as guard dog along with Caroline once you guys leave.”

“That’s a great idea.” Bonnie mutters sarcastically, and Jane gives her a commiserating look. Well, time to break through whatever enchantments were keeping her from Kol.

  
  


Stefan listens carefully to the conversations upstairs. Rebekah had left the door to the dungeon open, so he could hear everything going on since Katherine arrived. Damon cocks his head to the side, clearly listening just as intently. He starts cursing when Katherine mentions spending time in Elijah’s bed. “Come on Damon, I told you..”

“There’s no way. There’s no way she abandoned me like that.” Damon starts muttering over and over. Stefan just looks at him helplessly, unwilling to go upstairs to talk to their sire and former lover.

  
  


Rebekah throws open the doors to Klaus’s mansion so forcefully they fly off the hinges.

“Ah, I take it you noticed our brother’s absence?” Klaus taunts from a side room, glass full of scotch.

“Give them back, Nik!” Rebekah shouts her fury, hopefully drawing his attention away from Bonnie and Katherine, hiding close behind.

“Now why would I do that, when they want me to wait months to break free of Mother’s curse, when I could do it within a week. Just because of the doppelganger’s silly human convention of high school.” He spots Katherine enter behind Rebekah and his face contorts with displeasure. “And here I thought nothing could make Katerina enter the same city as me. You chose a strange time to make friends, sister.”

He erupts in a scream of pain as Bonnie enters the room and Rebekah flashes forward to snap his neck. Bonnie was glad Rebekah made her practice on herself before they came here, there was no way her regular witch migraine would have incapacitated an Original vampire.

“Don’t just stand there!” Rebekah snaps at them, “Go find my brothers! Release Finn too, the wanker. I’ll keep snapping his neck until we can go.”

Katherine speeds through the house, calling Bonnie once she finds the right room. It was brighter than Bonnie expected from what was basically a burial ground, with four coffins on display. “Don’t bother with that one, it’s locked shut. Likely contains Mommie dearest.” Katherine calls out before turning her attention to Elijah’s coffin. 

Bonnie opens the remaining two coffins, horrified by the sight that awaits her when she finds Kol’s. His skin has turned grey, veins pronounced. She digs the blood bag out of her purse, tossing one to Katherine, before wrenching the dagger out of Kol’s heart. Color slowly starts to return to his face, until she rips open the blood bag and his arm shoots out to grab it from her, bringing it to his face and taking greedy gulps before he seems to be aware of his surroundings.

“Bonnie.” He breathes her name, the sound like prayer on his lips. “You came for me.”

“Don’t let it boost your ego too much, Snow White.” She smiles despite her biting words.

“That’s the princess, right?” He swings his legs out of the coffin. “I’ll put it on my watch list immediately.”

Their attention is drawn by Elijah’s return to the living. He exits his coffin much more gracefully than Kol, before striding over and removing the dagger from Finn’s chest. “Miss Bennett, if you would be so kind as to give my eldest brother a blood bag,” he nods in her direction, and Kol takes the bag from her hands the moment it’s out, moving over to Finn’s still body. 

Elijah gathers the three daggers and holds them out to Katherine gravely. She protests, but he won’t be shaken. “You have the most experience running from him. I trust you.” Those three little words are enough to stop Katherine, who looks up at Elijah wearing Elena’s expression of worry for her loved ones. It looked almost odd on her, despite them having the same face. Elijah pulls her in for a searing kiss. “It won’t be for long, my love.” Katherine swallows a snarky retort, stuffing the daggers in her own purse, giving one last forlorn look before disappearing out the back door of the mansion. 

Finn’s awake by then, muttering in a language Bonnie didn’t recognize. Elijah looks at his brothers. “Time to join Rebekah in the parlor. I believe we should all have a little chat with Niklaus.”

Kol’s eyes don’t leave Bonnie’s own. “I need to get her out of here first.”

“Kol.” Elijah’s voice is full of warning.

“You lot have fun trying to set Nik on the straight and narrow, I’m taking the getaway car and this one home.” Kol draws Bonnie up in his arms, and whooshes them to the front of the house.She gets a glimpse of Rebekah snapping Klaus’s neck once more before pouring herself a drink when Kol stops to open the door.

“Kol! Kol don’t leave me here with this wanker!” She shouts at him when she spots them.

“Don’t worry, sister.” Kol laughs, “I’m sure Elijah will be a great help with Nik.” He rushes them out the door then, depositing her in the car, with the keys thankfully still in the ignition. He levels Bonnie a look that’s half serious, half mischief. “I’ve got a lot of groveling to do.”

Bonnie buckles her seatbelt before crossing her arms. “Damn right you do” she grumbles as he starts the car. He only looks happier at her grumbles.

“Come now Bon-Bon, you can’t be that mad if you rescued me.” She glares at him and he sighs as they begin racing down the road. “Very well, which part should I apologize for first? I’m honestly not sure how much time has passed.”

“It’s been almost a month. And you should apologize for ditching me at the dance. And not talking to me the week after iit. And not telling me you were leaving town. And making me worry.”

“Pretty sure that last one’s Nik’s fault.” He says wryly, but quickly sobers up. “I am dreadfully sorry Bonnie, something important came up.”

She snaps at him. “I know. Silas and the cure.” She throws her arms up in anger. “Would it have killed you to send a text?” He looks appropriately chagrined, and she feels slightly mollified. Slightly.

“What can I do to make it up to you?” Kol is intent on her face.

“Watch the road so I don’t die horribly, to start.” He dutifully resumes his attentions on the road. “And I’m not sure. I spend almost a month being pissed at you. That doesn’t go away just because I’m happy you’re alright.”

  
  


Bonnie started to give him the silent treatment back on the ride to Mystic Falls, though it quickly turns into a nap on her part. Kol can’t help but be worried, she must have burned through a lot of power getting to him. And perhaps he was too hasty in leaving his siblings with Niklaus, but he really was worried for Bonnie. He’d call Elijah once he got Bonnie home to her grandmother, just to find out what the plan was. He’d hate to go on the run with Bonnie and Elena in tow. Just Bonnie would be fine, he spent enough time on the run from Mikael that he knew how to enjoy himself on the road, but the doppelganger was a drag. Katherine was much more fun, as loathe as he was to like one of Elijah’s flings.

Grams is unhappy with Bonnie when Kol drops her off at home. “You should have told me you were leaving town!”

“There seems to be a lot of that going around.” Kol quips, and the exhausted Bonnie glares at him before staggering across the doorway. “I take it I’m still not invited in?”

Grams glares at him. “No way in hell if she’s looking like this,” She supports Bonnie’s weight, “all to rescue your sorry ass.”

Kol flinches. “I’ll be at home until I get a phone again. Be safe, darling.” he gives a jaunty wave and heads off. When he finally drives the car back to Mikaelson Manor, he pauses at Jane’s flurry of activity. She’s on the phone with two different people at once, and messaging several others on her laptop. He snatches a phone from her and holds it just out of reach. “What’s going on?”

Her eyes bulge out as she tries to reach for the phone in vain. “Elijah just called. Apparently, the entire Mikaelson clan will be calling this place home. So I really need that back or my head will be bitten off for lacking proper accommodations.”

Kol relents and Jane gets back on her call. All his siblings under one roof, he thought, this ought to be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm looking for beta readers for this and my other fics! Feel free to comment if you are interested.
> 
> But feel free to keep commenting about things other than beta reading; I love hearing from y'all!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus makes a deal. The decade dance occurs.

“We only have a few days before the 60s decade dance! I need to prepare so badly, and I’m counting on my best friends to help!” Caroline gives her Miss Mystic winning smile to Bonnie and Elena. “No more running around rescuing thousand year old boyfriends!”

“Hey!” Bonnie complained when her phone was snatched out of her hands. “I haven’t decided whether he gets to keep being my boyfriend after the stunt he pulled.” Sure, getting daggered wasn’t his fault, but he spent at least a week before that on some quest to destroy Silas, completely ignoring her the whole time. 

Caroline’s undeterred. “Puh-lease, you wouldn’t have driven in a car with Rebekah Mikaelson for 4 hours to rescue him if you weren’t head over heels.” That wasn’t an experience she wanted to repeat. There may be more truth in Caroline’s statement than Bonnie wanted to admit.

“Has he talked to you since you undaggered him?” Elena ignores Caroline’s call to focus on the dance, eyes intent on Bonnie.

Bonnie shifts uncomfortably in her seat. “Yeah, I mean we talked a bit right after on the drive home, and he texted me his new number the next day. Apparently all of his siblings have moved into the house with him and he warned me to stay away. There’s been some… unscheduled wall removal.”

Caroline snorts. “Yeah, I can see that. I’ve only met three of the Mikaelsons and they all seem like they’d throw each other through walls given the slightest opportunity.”

“Surely your opinion of us can’t be that bad, sweetheart.” A british accented voice calls out and Bonnie whips around, her brain recognizing the voice just as her eyes do. Klaus Mikaelson.

“It can and it is.” Caroline stares him down, but he ignores her, pulling out a spare chair and straddling it, leaning the chair back toward their table.

“Witchling” He nods to Bonnie in greeting, barely restrained anger in his eyes. It was only two days ago that Bonnie gave him the migraine of his life; she leans back subconsciously. He zeros in on Elena, looking purposefully bored. “I’ve been informed that my family’s good graces are dependent on keeping the truce Elijah brokered, but that doesn’t mean we can’t agree on a mutually beneficial change to it.”

“What could you possibly want?” Elena’s not doing as good a job as Caroline at not appearing afraid, her voice is shaking and her hands are tucked under the table.

He steeples his fingers like a movie villain. “I want to move up the sacrifice spell. To the next full moon.”

It’s Caroline who speaks first. “That’s only two days after the dance, no way are we agreeing to that.”

“That’s right, it’s not enough time to prepare the spell that ensures Elena survives.” Klaus glares at Bonnie when she talks. 

Caroline snaps her fingers in front of his face to break the stare off with Bonnie and he snarls. The hybrid straight up growled at them, fangs on display but Caroline keeps waving her fingers in front of his face. "Hey! You said mutually beneficial. What does Elena get out of this change to the timeline?"

Klaus leans back, eyeing Caroline appraisingly, but he addresses Elena. "All expense paid trip this summer. Wherever you want to go, accompanied by appropriate protection, of course." He turned his attention back to Bonnie."I believe Kol has volunteered, should you choose Bonnie to accompany you."

"Kol's on board with this?" Bonnie can't help but question his involvement.

Klaus just smirks. "He may have let a few things slip during our time on Silas's island. Sounds like you two had a lovely date, made _big_ plans for the future." Bonnie blanches, she can't believe Kol had treated his time away like the buddy road trip she feared. Yet, the way Klaus is smirking at her, that's exactly what he wants her to think. She resolves to ask Kol about it later. It would be best to hear it from him.

Klaus has resumed his attempts to sway Elena by the time Bonnie gets out of her own head. “Surely you can see the benefits to your side, should you move up the timeline. And I’m itching to get out of my skin.” Elena looks a cross between frightened and thoughtful.

Caroline however, is livid. “You seriously _want_ to turn into a werewolf? You want to experience the most painful thing I’ve ever witnessed, and think it’s worth sacrificing three people just so you can get some of that sweet, sweet bone-breaking pain?”

Klaus’s eyes alight with interest. “You’ve witnessed a transition. More than one, it sounds like.” Caroline shifts comfortably and Bonnie glares at her. It seems likely Caroline had the date of the next full moon memorized because she was planning on staying by Tyler’s side during it. “You could get hurt that way, love. Werewolf bite, nasty way for a vampire to die.”

“Like you care.” Caroline snaps back.

He leans back with a laugh. “You should hope I care, seeing as my blood is the cure for werewolf venom.” All three pairs of eyes snap to him. Bonnie had no idea that this is what Rebekah had alluded to when she mentioned knowing the cure for a wolf bite, and from the look on Caroline’s face, she hadn’t either. “Sounds like you should have asked for some of my blood in your precious _negotiations_ , if you are so intent on putting yourself in harms way. Shame there’s nothing I want from you lot.” His smirk is on full display once again.

“We’ll do it.” Elena seems determined for the first time in this conversation.

Bonnie jumps in before anyone else can say something stupid. “Elena’s not allowed to make that decision on her own, she needs my and Grams’ approval.”

“Yeah, but Grams will never sign off, even for Caroline.”

“Maybe that’s the point, _Elena_.”

Klaus’s eyes bounce back and forth between the two with great interest. “I’m more than happy to trade both my blood and the vacation the three of you so clearly desire in return for the move up in dates.”

“Don’t listen to a Mikaelson when they are just throwing money at everything.” Caroline’s voice is full of venom.

Elena turns her full body to her blonde friend. “Can you seriously promise me Care that you’ll stop putting yourself in danger?” When Caroline merely grumbles, Elena seems more resolved, turning to Klaus. “She gets your magic cure blood whenever she needs it, for as long as she lives.”

“Now, I don’t know about that, Caroline and I have much longer life spans than the two of you, seems like too big a bargain.” Bonnie gets the feeling he’s lying, but Elena is talking before she can analyze more.

“Then for my natural lifespan. As long as I am donating blood to you, you have to make sure Caroline has a dose of your blood ready to go.”

“Elena,” Bonnie tries to caution her, but she’s undeterred. Realizing this is a fight she won’t win with her oldest friend, she throws her hands in the air and throws in the metaphorical towel. She turns to Klaus, shoving a pointed finger in his face. “Your stupid magical cure blood AND the vacation of our choice.” 

He swats her hand out of his face with a scowl, before standing up triumphant. “Lovely doing business with you lot.” He heads back the way he came, calling over his shoulder: “Looking forward to another one of your events, Caroline.”

  
  
  


Kol woke up in a cold sweat. He hated that he'd been falling asleep ever since the island, hated even more the dreams that accompanied said sleep. It was like his own version of the hunter's curse, except this was all Silas. Silas, damn him, who had wormed his way into Kol's mind when Nik went to shove the cure down the bastard's throat. Kol had been in and out of a fugue state on the way back from the island, muttering anything and everything. He had no idea what weaknesses he revealed to Niklaus after they burned Silas’s body.

Now whenever he closed his eyes Kol saw Silas's desiccated corpse, could feel the hunger of two thousand years gnaw at him. He hadn't seen Bonnie since she rescued him, too afraid she would notice his shakiness, his lack of control. The hunger meant she might not be safe around him, whenever Silas's uncontrollable thirst took hold of his mind.

He couldn't tell if he was getting worse or better, the randomness of it bothering him, preventing him from tracking any kind of pattern. There were some covens he could reach out to, but he'd told Bonnie he wouldn't run off on her again and was loath to break his word. Even if he couldn't manage to tell her in person, this age's marvels of technology would let him call her at least.

Jane comes into his room and throws the covers off his face. For all she claimed not to be his maid, she seemed very busy rearranging his things. “What do you want?” he snapped, too exhausted to try and be charming.

“No one else is in the house right now, so you want to tell me why you’ve been eyeing my carotid artery ever since you came back?” She settles herself down at the foot of his bed, yanking the rest of his sheets away from him. 

“You’re lucky I wasn’t in my knickers.” He had passed out fully clothed, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Seriously, Kol. Neither Finn nor Elijah have been this bad, so I know it’s not the daggering that’s got you jumpy.” A pained expression crosses her face. “I know you have better control than your siblings give you credit for, and I’ve spent all of 9 months living with you.” She prods his foot, none too gently. “We’ve been partners in this godforsaken town for a while; we are in this together. Tell me what’s wrong.”

He sighs and sits up, glaring daggers at her. He briefly wonders if he can take a bite without killing Jane, just enough to scare her, but discards the thought. He could use a friend who wasn’t Bonnie right now. “What do you know about Silas.”

“Simultaneously less and more than you, I imagine.” 

Damn her calm reply. His expression must speak volumes, because she quickly continues on. “He is a master of mind manipulation, the more blood he’s fed on the more powerful he becomes. And he can control thoughts as an immortal AND as a mortal witch. He’s also Stefan Salvatore’s doppelganger.” Kol starts at that knowledge, Jane had told him that ages ago, of course, but he’d not considered the younger Salvatore worthy of his time and brushed it off.

“Silas… planted something. In my head, before he died.”

Her head cocks to the side. “Did he get a hold of your blood?”

He nods gravely. “A single drop is all that was needed to pry the cure from his fossilized hands. Nik was being too slow, hemming and hawing. So I did what needed to be done.”

She sighs, running a hand through her hair. “One drop is all it takes. I have some ideas on how to get him out of your head, but it’s worrying me that whatever he’s planted is still there after his death and your daggering.”

“And here you swore you weren’t a witch. What ideas?”

“I’m not a witch, the ideas are from my visions. In one, Klaus gets hit pretty hard by one of Silas’s manipulations, thinks a sliver of white oak is buried near his heart. A good old fashioned shout fest takes his mind off it enough that he snaps out of it.”

Kol’s reply is incredulous. “Seriously, I should just get in a fight with my siblings, and *poof* it’ll disappear? Pretty sure that would have happened when I had the argument with Nik that got me daggered.” He winced at the memory. He still couldn’t care less about Elena’s schedule, but moving up the sacrifice could cause problems for Bonnie. Of course, that’s not how he argued it to Nik, no need to reveal more of a weakness than necessary.

“Let’s just say his company was more pleasant than his siblings, gave him more to focus on.”

Kol’s very interested now that they can talk about something other than his current predicament. “Do tell, darling. It wouldn’t be tasty little Caroline he was arguing with in your vision, was it?” The way Jane flinches is confirmation enough for Kol. “I wouldn’t have expected Miss Control Freak to be his type. And he’s a bit old for her, isn’t he?”

“Like you’re a bit old for Bonnie?” Jane shoots back, but Kol is undeterred.

“At least I never came to her town to threaten her and her loved ones. Besides,” he peers at the human, “I think it’s high time you tell me exactly what you let slip to Nik.”

She runs a hand through her hair “I honestly don’t remember, he hit me pretty hard at the end of our talk and purposefully gave me a concussion. The whole thing is kind of a blur.”

“That sounds like Nik alright. But you set up the meeting with him.”

“I thought it would be a call,” she admits ruefully. She takes the opportunity to change the subject. “I know Caroline gets slapped out of a hallucination by Rebekah at one point, but I doubt it would work on you, since daggering didn’t. It sounds like whatever’s in your brain is planted deeper than that. What is it, exactly?”

“His hunger, thousands of years worth. It comes and goes.” He can’t believe she’s sitting there calmly. “Aren’t you worried, being around a bloodthirsty monster like myself?”

“Nah,” and she stretches as she unfolds herself from his bed, “I’m pretty sure vampires think those who look attractive taste better, and you’re not attracted to me, despite your numerous flirting attempts the first month we moved here.”

Kol is genuinely surprised. “Why would you think that?”

“I just figured pretty people taste better, or vampires wouldn’t go to the trouble of luring the most attractive victims they can find. Maybe hot people smell better?” She shrugs, pausing near the door. “I downloaded Skype on your laptop, you can use it to call Bonnie. And do so. Soon.”

There’s a call from downstairs for Jane. Finn, by the sounds of it. She grimaces. “He probably wants me to look up Sage on Facebook again. Or, god forbid, he’s downloaded another virus. He’s not getting the credit card information anytime soon.” Kol chuckles at his brother’s incompetence before rummaging around to get his own laptop out. Time to call Bonnie.

  
  
  


Bonnie was doing homework on her laptop when her video conferencing software started ringing. It was Kol.

"So you finally started talking to me again? And it's not even in person." Bonnie said in a huff when she answered on the last ring.

"Don't be like that Bon-Bon, I'd be there with you if I could." Kol was sitting in his bedroom. She wondered whether he knew she had raided the place while he was missing.

"And why can't you be here, in person, groveling?"

Kol shifts, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "I'mhavingbloodlustissues" comes out of his mouth at a speed she can't comprehend.

"Try again Kol. Slower this time, for my human ears."

He sighs, refusing to meet her eyes. "I've been having blood lust issues." Bonnie blanches, she hadn't considered Kol a threat due to her blood since well before they became friends. To think his control had always been this shaky….. 

"Before you get that look in your eye, I typically have impeccable control. I may have underestimated Silas; he got the best of me and left a parting gift in my brain."

Bonnie sits up straighter. This sounded like something she could help with. "That's witchcraft, right? Let me help get it out of your head."

"This isn't typical magic, Bon-Bon. Silas was two thousand years old and a mind reader. There's seldom few covens left who even have knowledge of such a power."

"Then we'll find those covens." She snapped at him. He sounded so defeated, it wasn't typical of him. "In the meantime, can you pull it together enough to go to school? Or take me to the dance?"

Kol eyes her warily. "You still want me to go?"

Bonnie's irritated now. "I successfully babysat Caroline's newborn vampire impulses, not to mention incapaticated Klaus. I can handle it. I have faith that _you_ can handle it. Besides, I want my boyfriend to take me to a dance and _not ditch me_."

Kol's smile slowly returned to his face during her rant. "So I'm still your boyfriend then, am I?" he teased her.

“Of course you are.” Bonnie bristles. “Though I was wondering, how did Klaus get details about our date?”

“Ah, I might have been in a babbling state after our trip to Silas’s island. I honestly have no idea what all I revealed to him.”

“That could be a problem.” Kol laughs at her understatement. “But I was meaning to ask you something else before I forget. You said Elijah has a potion that will ensure Elena survives the ritual?” He nods warily. “Any chance he has it at your house? Elena made a deal with Klaus, moved up the ritual to the next full moon.”

Kol groans, dragging a hand across his face. “You mean I got daggered over nothing? Your doppelganger friend just went and agreed to his terms anyway?”

“It wasn’t for nothing, this way we get werewolf venom cure for Caroline.” He shoots her an incredulous look. “Yes, we know it’s Klaus’s blood. It’s a whole thing. Don’t ask. I actually argued with Elena against it.”

“As well you should.” Kol muttered and Bonnie was glad he still had her back, even if she was going to focus on having Elena’s. “And the potion isn’t guaranteed to work, it was made 500 years ago, and we don’t have time to make another one.”

Bonnie muttered a curse. “So what options do we have?”

“Parental sacrifice should guarantee it. There’s a spell in dear Emily’s grimoire that can link a child to a blood parent. The spell saves the child’s life at the expense of the parent’s.”

“Any chance Isobel would work as the sacrifice?” It was cruel to wish death on the woman, but she had messed with their lives too much for Bonnie to care. Kol shook his head, Isobel’s status as a vampire meant she couldn’t work for the spell. “So we need to track down John Gilbert.”

“Try not to judge me too harshly for this darling, but I suggest having my family kidnap him. You need his consent to perform the spell, and he might be more willing to do it if he knew the extremes Nik is willing to resort to.”

Bonnie takes a moment to think it over, before agreeing with him. She’d do anything to keep her friends safe. And it’s not like anyone would miss John. “Do it. I’ll worry about telling Elena after she’s safe.”

  
  
  


Bonnie went into the decade dance on Kol's arm, very much aware of the similarity to last month's masquerade ball. The things that were the same.

The things that had changed.

She wasn't at all surprised when she spotted Rebekah Mikaelson's face among the crowd, but she was surprised by who the blonde was dancing with: Klaus. Now that Bonnie was looking more closely, she could also spot Elijah and Finn among the crowd, the latter on a redheaded woman's arm.

The whole family had crashed their school dance. Huh.

"Oh good, Sage is here." Kol looks delighted. "She's the redhead leading Finn around. I can't say I liked her much when they first dated, but she's been a hoot to hang with over the centuries."

“Kol.” He plastered on an innocent look. “Why is your family here?”

“They may have been too hasty settling in this small town and are now regretting the lack of distractions.”

“By ‘distractions’ do you mean they are going to be chomping on my classmates?”

“Probably not. No telling though. Especially since Bekah brought the Ripper as her date.” Sure enough, as the song ended Klaus bowed at Rebekah and passed her off to Stefan for the next dance.

"How is Finn adjusting? Nine hundred years must be quite a shock." Bonnie was concerned over the eldest Mikaelson, he seemed jumpy in the crowd. Or maybe it was the blaring music.

"He's fine," Kol waived her off, "still has the same stick up his ass."

“And how are you doing?” She eyes him critically. “Any desire to rip out the throats of everyone here?”

“Not right now, but if it comes up, you’ll be the first to know.”

  
  
  


Caroline is dancing with Tyler when Klaus comes up and taps her on the shoulder. “May I have this dance?”

She crosses her arms and stares him down. “Um, no. Last time we danced you threatened me.”

Klaus has the audacity to laugh at her words. “All the more reason to set a better precedent for the future.” 

It’s Tyler’s look of fury that decides for her. He didn’t own her, so it wouldn’t kill either one of them for her to dance with Klaus. She nods warily and gets swept up in his arms, leading them in a dance that didn’t go with the 60s theme but still seemed to be in time with the music. “Shouldn’t you know more authentic dance moves since you’re as old as dirt?”

He chuckles again. It was weird, he always seemed to find her insults charming. “There are older things than me on this earth, though perhaps not anymore since I destroyed Silas. And I abhor the 60s. The Beatles were the only thing that made the miserable decade tolerable.”

That piques her interest. “You’ve seen the Beatles perform?”

“Live, in concert, in private love. Though I must say, their psychedelic phases made them less than ideal party partners.”

She just stares at him. “Are you saying you snacked on the Beatles?” The smirk he sends her way confirms it. “Any other famous people you’ve made meals out of?”

He seems to seriously consider her question, which just irks her more. “A number of musicians, royalty and their courts, of course.”

“Of course.” She replies sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

“I’m entirely serious, Caroline. And one day you will have similar experiences to look back on.”

“Yeah right.”

“You have entire worlds, countries and times to look forward to. There’s genuine beauty in this world, art and food unrivaled. And it can, and will, all be yours.” He steps back gracefully from their waltz. “I believe the dance is over. Do say hello to young Tyler for me.” 

Klaus whips his head around almost too fast for her to catch at a clatter near the punch bowl. She spied Bonnie and Kol, with Kol behind her friend with his fangs out and veins pronounced. Caroline hears Klaus curse. “I’ll take care of it,” he promises. And in a whoosh, both he and Kol are gone.

  
  
  


Klaus slammed Kol into a locker in the dessert hallway. If he hadn’t been consumed by his need for the sweet blood pumping through all the party goers a few doors away, he might have noticed their positions were reversed from the last dance he attended.

“Now brother, can’t have you munching on the Bennett witchling when I still have need for her. So be a good boy and calm Silas’s bloodlust.”

Kol gets his bearings enough to be mad. “Who says I was having any issues anyway? You aren’t my keeper.”

Klaus smirks and Kol can already tell he isn’t going to like whatever comes out of his mouth. “Well, since you have integrated yourself so beautifully into the lives of my doppelganger and the witchling, I thought it prudent to have one of my witches provide me with the means to keep track of your moods.”

Kol was right, he’s pissed. “You performed a spell on me without my knowledge.”

His brother is definitely enjoying lording this over him. “Well, since we are all living together now, it was easy to acquire your hair for the spell. And turns out it was a good thing too, wouldn’t want little Bonnie to know you were itching to snack on her.”

“She already knows.” Bonnie stood at the end of the hallway, quickly hiding whatever was in her hand behind her back. Klaus slowly releases his stranglehold on Kol, giving him room to breathe. But not enough room to move closer to Bonnie.

“How did you find us so quickly?” Kol definitely isn’t asking to put off the inevitable conversation about his bloodlust.

Klaus grins at him, all teeth. “Speaking of spells performed without your knowledge…” 

Bonnie looks bashful for a second. “I may have a tracking spell on you. Just in case this one,” she jerks her thumb at Klaus, “decided to dagger you again. I’m sorry.”

“Darling, you can perform whatever magic you want on me.” Klaus looks disgusted and Bonnie blushes. He uses the opportunity to shove Klaus fully off him. “I don’t need you to babysit me Nik. And Bonnie would have been able to remove the spell from my mind by now if she didn’t need to save up her strength for _your_ ritual.” It was a lie, but Kol wasn’t above lying to his siblings. Klaus in particular. Especially since he strong-armed Elena into moving up the ritual,he figured his brother deserved a little guilt.

“What’s this about moving up the ritual?” Great, Kol thought ruefully, now Elijah had joined them.

“I successfully altered the deal with the doppelganger and Bennetts to move up the ritual. I thought you’d be elated, as there were no threats involved.” Klaus looks like he’s daring Elijah to contradict him or even lecture him. Kol knew the feeling all too well.

Elijah simply turns to Bonnie. “Is this true, Miss Bennett?”

“Yes.” Bonnie admits sullenly. “In return for his blood should Caroline ever be bitten by a werewolf.” She had told him there was a bit more involved than that, but she told Elijah the part he was likely to care about.

“I see.” Elijah turns his attention back to Kol. “Well, it seems likeI should take my youngest brother home, seeing as he has become a danger to others.”

“No way. Kol owes me a dance where he doesn’t disappear halfway through.”

“Miss Bennett, while you may consider yourself a friend to my brother-”

“Girlfriend.” Bonnie interjects firmly. “We’re dating. Get your terms right.”

“Regardless of your relation to my brother, I must agree with Niklaus’s assessment that he is a danger to others and to our cover should he remain here. Don’t allow your attachment to cloud your judgement.”

Bonnie remains insistent. “I can handle him.”

“Does anyone care what I think?” Kol speaks up, determined to draw the attention back to him, and not to his desire to rip throats out.

“Not really.” Klaus replied dryly, though he had been watching Elijah and Bonnie’s conversation avidly, like he was learning a great deal about both of them.

Kol ignores the brother who had a nasty habit of daggering him. “Why don’t we head home and watch a movie Bonnie, it will be easier with less people around.” Bonnie gives him a look before nodding.

“Perfect, I’ll drive you two.” Elijah moves to release Kol from Klaus’s grip, who starts smirking at the announcement.

“Wait, Elijah, really. I don’t need to be babysat--”

“Yes you do.” Bonnie and Elijah reply at the same time, and Klaus’s smirk turns into out loud laughter. Kol sends him a look promising payback and his worst brother just continues to chuckle.

“I’m sorry, Bonnie.” He says miserably to her once they are in the back of Elijah’s car.

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll turn it into a study date for the full moon ritual. I’d rather worry about that than you eating my friends anyway.” She takes his hand before he can say anything else. “The moment we are done with Elena’s recovery sleepover, I’ll start looking for ways to help you. Promise.” He simply squeezes her hand in response, no need to get sappy with Elijah in the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All my fics took longer than usual to write the past two weeks. Anyway, I'm still looking for beta readers.  
> I'm thinking of jumping straight into the girl's recovery sleepover for Elena after the ritual, the ritual itself doesn't interest me much. And it's hard not to jump to their summer of fun in Europe already.  
> I'm glad so many people are liking this fic, looking forward to all of your comments!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after the sacrifice ritual occurs. Bonnie burns Silas out of Kol’s mind, only for something terrible to happen to a different friend.

Elena wakes up with a gasp and Bonnie and Caroline both go toward her, wrapping her in a bone crushing hug. “Did it work?” Elena asks, running her hands over the wound on her neck. “Am I still….?”

“Still very much alive, and very much human.” Bonnie grins at her friend. She was nearly dead on her feet after the spell that saved Elena’s life, but her joy had kept her awake to see this moment, to see that it worked. Elena pulls her in for another hug.

“Thank you so much, Bonnie.” They both cry into each other’s shoulders, while Caroline and Jenna look on. Elena pulls back and wipes some tears from her eyes. “You never told me, which spell did you end up using? I didn’t have to take Elijah’s potion.”

Bonnie pauses. She knew she would have to share what she did eventually. Sighing, she begins the sorry tale. “There was only one way guaranteed to work and it involved a sacrifice of its own. A living blood parent.”

Elena shrinks in on herself. “Uncle John?” she asks in a whisper.

“I’m so sorry Elena.” She tries to hug her friend again, but Elena shies away, leaning back toward Jenna. “I would have used Isobel if I could.”

“Neither one would be ok, Bonnie!” Elena shouts as she stands up to get further away from her friend. “I’m low on parents, in case you haven’t noticed, so how could you take one from me? It’s bad enough Isobel is probably going to die for her attempts to interfere, but John was human!”

Bonnie stands up to get closer to her friend’s height. “There was no guarantee the potion would work after 500 years, Elena! And the only other option was vampire blood! Tell me this isn’t better than you being a vampire!”

Her friend tears at her own hair. “Of course staying human is better than being a vampire, but how were you so certain that killing John would save me?”

“In Jane’s visions…” Bonnie begins, but is cut off by a snort from Jenna. Everyone whips their heads around to stare at her; Jenna covers her mouth in embarrassment. Jenna opens her mouth a few times before she finally gets any words out.

“So I get that John, the dickhead, dying is very sad and I’m glad you all made it out of a sacrificial ritual unscathed, but Jane thinks we are TV show characters.” They all stare at Jenna in shock. “I got her high while everyone was at the decade dance, and she claimed to be from an alternate universe where she watched a tv show featuring all of us having horrible lives and dying repeatedly.”

Elena is the first to recover. “You sacrificed John on the word of someone who thinks we are all fictional!” she shouts at Bonnie.

“I had no idea she was that crazy!” Bonnie tries to defuse her friend. “I trusted Kol when he told me it was the best way, I had no idea about any of this!” 

Caroline shoves the two friends apart. “Wait a second! We are ignoring something very important here.” She turns to Jenna, a hand still placed on each girl’s shoulders. “What was the show rated?” Everyone else looks at her in confusion. “If the show was on HBO, then Jane’s seen us all naked because R rated tv shows show ALL the sex scenes. And none of us are exactly celibate.”

They all look at Jenna, momentarily distracted from the Uncle John argument. Jenna wrings her hands, struggling to come up with an answer. “I think it was on regular tv, no pay-per-view.” They all sigh with relief at that.

Caroline removes her strong hands keeping Elena and Bonnie apart and steps back. “Ok then. Resume the Uncle John argument. The sooner you get it out of your systems the sooner we can all go back to being friends.”

Elena sits down with a thud and crosses her arms. “I’ve said all I have to say about it. Bonnie just can’t accept that she messed up.” Bonnie flinches.

“Are you kidding me?” Caroline looks at her friend in bewilderment. “Bonnie half killed herself keeping you alive and you take issue with _how_ she did it? Look at her, Elena! Really look at Bonnie! She’s exhausted, all to help you! And you didn’t even like Uncle John, no one did!”

Elena opens her mouth a few times, looking wildly between Caroline and Bonnie. She frowns. “You shouldn’t have been forced to make that decision in the first place Bonnie, I’m sorry.”

Bonnie sits next to her friend and grasps her hands. “I am truly sorry. I thought it was the best way.”

Jenna looks relieved that everyone’s calmed down. “I’ll put the movie on, ok? And expect a full breakfast when you guys wake up. I’m making pancakes and bacon.” When Jenna comes back out in the morning, all three friends are cuddled in a pile of blankets, clutching each other desperately in their sleep. She chuckles, and goes to make sure Jeremy gets up in time for school, figuring the girls had earned a little extra sleep.

  
  


Kol is beyond disappointed he is still expected to attend high school. He thought that surely, now that the ritual was completed, his services would no longer be necessary. He argued with Elijah back and forth, but short of fleeing town and leaving his family behind completely, he would have to serve as doppelganger bodyguard, at least until the end of the school year. And he couldn't leave town on Bonnie. Thankfully, the girls had decided to take the day after the ritual off, claiming to visit Whitmore College with Grams. So he could sit in his convertible outside the Gilbert house waiting for them to wake up, listening to all the new music of this century on his nifty little electronic device. He had to admit, there were perks to this period in time. Even if most of the fashion was horrible.

He’s bored enough he calls Elijah, just to have something to do. “Is Nik worse to babysit in wolf form or is it worse when he can talk?” He laughs at his own joke, delivered the moment Elijah answered. “Seriously, ‘Lijah. Get a life. Or a woman. Something.”

Elijah’s voice is clipped when he answers. “Niklaus is fairing well, eaten several hikers with no sign of stopping anytime soon, despite the absence of the moon. And I have a woman waiting for me. Taking care of my family, including you and Rebekah, is keeping me from her.” 

He must be talking about Katherine, how boorish. “And how is your lady love? Have you been in contact while she runs from our brother once again, this time at your behest?” There is a stilted silence at the other end of the phone. “Or can you not say, out of worry Nik is enough in his right mind to hear you, should you admit to aiding the tramp?” Elijah stays silent and Kol sighs. “Well, you’re no fun right now. And it’s awful of you to keep Isobel from me as well. Just because she _may_ be aiding your ladylove escape our brother’s clutches doesn’t mean you should deny me my revenge.”

“What revenge? I wasn’t aware you were particularly fond of either Miss Forbes or Mr Lockwood, and both are still mostly in one piece despite her involvement.”

“Please, I take my guard dog duties very seriously. It’s a matter of principle to capture the one who slipped through my defenses.” Kol puts his feet up on the dash of his car, hanging halfway out of his seat.

“By which you mean you’re bored and want a torture plaything Miss Bennett won’t object to, since Rebekah released the elder Salvatore.” Elijah’s voice is dry and full of more than a little judgement. Kol smarts. It doesn’t matter that Elijah was right, he had kept his hands far too clean in this sorry little town, he would rather be babysitting Nik right then, just to get in on some of the killing action. He catches a glimpse of himself in the rearview mirror and starts, seeing his fangs on display. Perhaps Silas was leaking into his mind more than he thought. Or maybe he just missed murder and mayhem. 

“You can’t seriously hope to keep Katherine’s pet safe in addition to the woman herself. The bitch helped that Gilbert uncle get the best of me, I will get my hands on her.” Kol snarls before hanging up the phone. 

  
  


Bonnie wakes up in a cuddle puddle with Caroline and Elena and immediately sighs in relief. She had her friends with her, after everything. Stretching, she sits up and spies Jenna making pancakes in the kitchen. “Get the other two up, will you Bonnie? Pancakes are almost ready.”

“Thanks for letting us skip school, Jenna.” She says as she gently shoves Elena and Caroline awake.

“Don’t thank me, your Grams is the one providing the cover story with the school and the sheriff. Speaking of,” Jenna points a batter covered spoon at Caroline, who’s just stood up, “You should seriously tell your mom. Founders Council or not, she’s your mom and she’ll love you no matter what.” Caroline grumbles that it’s too early for to talk about that, but Jenna just gestures to the clock with her spoon, sending batter flying. “It’s not remotely early anymore, and you weren’t a part of the ritual, so you get less of a pass.”

Bonnie settles into the barstool across from Jenna’s pancake workspace. “Grams said she was taking us to the college this afternoon. We don’t actually get the day off, as punishment for changing the deal behind her back.”

“Then it’s pancakes for lunch,” Jenna says, piling each girl’s plate with a large helping of pancakes and setting out the maple syrup. “It turns out Jeremy ate all our bacon, so there was none left for you guys. I can’t tell if he’s high again or trying a muscle-building protein diet.”

“Maybe it’s both, Jenna.” Elena yawns as she joins Bonnie at the counter.

Caroline has eaten half her pancakes by the time Elena and Bonnie finish putting syrup on theirs. “So what’s the plan with Kol?” she says once her mouth is no longer stuffed with food. Bonnie just looks at her in confusion. “How long does it take for your witch powers to recharge so you can kick Silas out of his brain? I’m pretty sure his blood lust control is worse than mine right now, which is saying something as I haven’t been a vampire for half a year.”

Bonnie laughs a little. “He also swears up and down that your level of control is unnatural, he’s never known a newborn vamp with such little blood lust issues. And as far as my power levels go, I was going to have Grams help me this weekend. She refuses to even talk about helping Kol until I’m caught up at school.”

“Harsh.” Caroline says about Grams, then preens. “Did Kol really say I have unmatched control?”

“Don’t let it go to your head, Care.” Elena mumbles, still half asleep. “We’ve never seen Kol feed, maybe he just has terrible control himself.”

“Kol’s control is great,” Bonnie snaps. “It’s just the Silas thing.” Kol suddenly appears on the other side of the glass side door and waves at her. Bonnie laughs out loud, before moving to open the door, leaning against it opposite Kol. “I’m not asking Elena to invite you in.”

“Rude.” He sticks his tongue out at her. “And how fares the blood bag?”

“Um, rude” Caroline calls out, and Elena just rolls her eyes, still half asleep.

“We are all doing great this morning, thanks for asking.” Bonnie pauses before asking her question. “Are you coming with us to Whitmore?”

“Yes, it appears I’m stuck with bodyguard duty for the remainder of the year, so I’ll be accompanying you.” He smirks despite his obvious displeasure.

Bonnie’s suddenly worried. “What about next year?”

“Don’t worry your sweet head, Bon-Bon,” he pats her head and she glowers, “I’ll still be in town. I’m just planning on arranging it so Rebekah has school duty, since she’s already enrolled herself for the remainder of this year.”

“Just try and keep your head on straight until I can convince Grams to help you, ok?” She leans in and pecks him on the lips. Caroline whoops in the background and she breaks away with a laugh. 

  
  


The next Saturday, Grams gives Bonnie a sharp look. She still wasn’t pleased they were doing magic on Kol’s behalf. “We’re ready.”

Kol kneeled in the middle of their salt circle with his shirt off; Bonnie was doing her best not to eye his bare chest.

“This will be painful.” Grams warns him, and he sends her a wicked smile. 

“Nothing I haven’t experienced before, darling.” Grams merely snorts in response.

The flames from the candles flicker and then blaze to life, a foot high. Bonnie and Grams join hands around Kol and begin chanting. 

Kol’s been screaming for several minutes, and Bonnie chanting for twice as long, when she hears Elena calling for her from outside the spell area.

“Don’t lose focus Bonnie.” Grams snaps at her from the other side of Kol.

Klaus suddenly appears at the corner of her eye, blocking Elena from entering the spelled circle. She struggles against him for a few moments, before crying out in Bonnie’s direction. “No one can find Caroline and Rebekah just laughed me off. I need Bonnie and Kol!”

Klaus growls at her friend, before turning to her and Grams. “I’ll take care of the wayward baby vamp, focus on my brother.” He stalks off, dragging Elena with him. Bonnie resumes her chanting, more worried than she was before.

  
  


Elena stops struggling against Klaus’s grip once they arrive at his car and he turns to her expectantly. “Surely you lot aren’t so incompetent as to have no idea what happened to her?” He folds his arms and gives her an evil eye. All Elena can do is shake her head. “And how long has she been gone?”

“Since yesterday after school. Her mom called me today in a panic when she realized Caroline wasn’t with me or Bonnie.”

“Sometimes baby vampires just go off on ripper binges.” He stalks over to the front seat and climbs in, despite his words, and she hurries to follow.

“Not Caroline,” she shakes her head vigorously. “Kol and Stefan both have sworn up and down that she’s got amazing control.” All Klaus says is “interesting” as he guns the engine and takes off down the road back toward town. “Where are we going?”

“I’m having one of my witches meet us at my house.”

His body is tense and his hands clenched tightly around the steering wheel, Elena can’t help but notice. Which brings her to her next question. “Why are you helping?”

He smirks at her, and she knows he won’t be revealing the whole truth, just enough to annoy her. “I abhor being in debt to witches, love. This is an easy way to settle a debt to the Bennetts.” Elena nods, it’s a good enough answer that she’ll have to go along with his plans for now. She regrets not just asking Stefan for help, but her first instinct had been Bonnie and now she was stuck with the guy who drank her dry a week ago. At least she’s probably the safest of her friends with him, since he needs her healthy and human to collect her blood. Assuming he can keep his legendary temper in check.

They pull up to Mikaelson Manor quicker than Elena thought possible. Jane hurries out of the house upon seeing Klaus drag her from the car. “What the hell is going on?”

“Has Greta arrived yet? If not, then I don’t particularly care for your presence.” Klaus stares down Jane, who flinches.

“We don’t know where Caroline is.” Elena explains before remembering that Jenna told them Jane was crazy.

Jane’s eyes bug out of her head. “Bill Forbes wouldn’t happen to be in town, would he?” Klaus pauses from where he was dragging Elena up the steps to the house, leaning against a column.

“What do you know, Jane?” His voice is dangerously predatory.

She hurriedly swallows and looks pale. “There’s a dungeon designed for torturing vampires in the old jail. If she’s anywhere in town, then Bill’s probably trying to condition her to reject vampirism right now. The sheriff has the address.” 

Klaus releases Elena’s arm and curses in several languages she doesn’t know. “Why is it a perennial favorite of incompetent vampire hunters to try and change our inherent nature?” He glares at Jane. “You have five minutes to get the location from your supposed boss.” Jane hurries inside, pulling out her phone to place the call, as Klaus paces back and forth.

“You can’t seriously want to listen to Jane.” Elena starts, but Klaus glares at her. She steels up her resolve, they didn’t have time for wild goose chases! “The woman’s crazy, she thinks we are all TV show characters.”

“I don’t need to explain myself to a walking blood bag.” Klaus snaps at her, and she flinches. So much for thinking she was the friend most safe with him.

Jane comes back outside. “Ok, I just sent you the address, but Liz will be meeting you there, it was the only way I could get her to give up the location so quickly.”

Klaus glares at the woman. “I’ll deal with you later.” He moves to grab Elena’s arm again, but she starts walking toward the car before he can. “And why do you think you are coming?”

“Caroline’s mom doesn’t know she’s a vampire. If she’s actually being tortured right now, she’ll need a friendly face when we rescue her. Her mom is likely to try and stake her if not given time to absorb it.” She slides into the passenger seat and stares him down with a determined look on her face. “She’ll need me.”

Klaus doesn’t say anything, just guns the engine and takes off at breakneck speed toward the old county jail. 

  
  


Liz hurries up to them outside the old jail. “Elena, what’s going on? I don’t understand, why would Caroline be here?” Klaus shoves Elena toward Liz, who catches her when she stumbles. “And who the hell is this?”

“Sheriff,” Klaus turns to face Liz with glowing yellow eyes and double fangs on display, “kindly shut it.” He tilts his head to the side. “I can hear her.” He growls at whatever he hears, and promptly rips the doors off the cellar, flashing down inside.

Liz fumbles with her gun, pulling out the one strapped behind her back. “Stay back Elena” she commands, but Elena grabs her gun arm and forces it down.

“Sheriff you don’t understand…” Elena stops, unsure how to explain all she knew. Or which parts Caroline wouldn’t mind her telling.

Klaus emerges from the jail then, carrying a sobbing Caroline in his arms. He places her gently in the passenger seat of his car, leaving the door open and gesturing for Elena to move there. “You said you were coming along for comfort. So. Comfort. Her.” He snarls then flashes off back down the jail stairs.

Elena rushes forward and hugs her friend, who barely reacts. Caroline keeps repeating the same phrase over and over. “I promise I’m good Daddy, I promise I’ll be good.” Elena strokes her hands up and down the unblemished parts of her friend’s arms in what she hopes is a comforting motion.

Liz comes up to them and stares at her daughter, unresponsive and covered in blood. “Who did this to you, baby girl?” Klaus comes back out of the cellar at that moment, with what’s presumably Bill Forbes’s dead body slung over his shoulder. “Oh my god, Bill!” Liz starts toward her ex husband, only to be stopped by Klaus’s glare.

“I found your ex husband attempting to torture the vampirism out of your only daughter. He’s in transition now, he’ll be easier to question as a vampire.” He shoves Bill’s dead body in the back of the trunk of his car and Caroline winces. Klaus strolls up to Liz and wrenches the gun out of her grasp, sending it clattering across the ground. “Sheriff, assure me you won’t make the same mistakes as your ex husband and you can take your daughter and Elena home in your car, rather than have them accompany me to where I will be torturing answers out the soon-to-be dead man in my trunk.”

Elena’s confused rather than frightened for the first time since they parked. “What do you mean, answers?”

Klaus turns his steely gaze on her and she moves closer to Caroline for support. “Someone sent a vampire hunter after Caroline in my town. I will find out who.”

“But it’s her dad.” Elena whispers, and Caroline flinches beside her.

Klaus’s face softens fractionaly. “That’s why it’ll be her choice what happens to him, once I have the answers I need.” He turns back to Liz, eyes glowing yellow with rage once again. “So what will it be, Sheriff?”

Liz’s eyes are wide with fright, but she nods and moves toward Caroline. “They’re coming home with me. I don’t care what you are, but my daughter isn’t going to be anywhere near where Bill gets his deserved punishment.” She half carries Caroline toward her own squad car, whispering comfort even as Caroline stares blankly ahead and repeats her mantra. Elena follows them, fretting and shooting worried glances back at Klaus, who’s staring them down and doesn’t move until they are all loaded in the car. Only once Liz starts driving away with shaky hands does he climb into his car and drive in the opposite direction.

  
  


Bonnie turns her phone back on with shaky hands. It had taken over an hour to remove all traces of Silas from Kol’s brain, and now he was passed out in the middle of the salt circle. Bonnie wanted to join him in blissful sleep, but she needed to know Caroline was alright first.

Elena picks up on the first ring. “She’s ok, Klaus got her out” her friend half sobs into the phone, and Bonnie starts crying from relief.

“Where was she?” Bonnie whispers. 

“Her dad had her, was trying to torture vampirism out of her or something. It’s actually hard to explain, I’m still trying to catch up the Sheriff. I need to get back to Caroline, but just get here as soon as you can, ok? Even if you are exhausted, just you sleeping near her will help calm her down.” Elena lowers her voice to a whisper. “She’s not doing great.”

“I’ll be there.” Bonnie promises and looks at a stirring Kol as she hangs up. He sits up, blinking away his confusion as she throws his shirt at him. “Did it work?”

He stretches before putting the shirt on. “As far as I can tell.” He bounds up to her and peppers her with kisses. His face quickly grows concerned, however. “What did I miss?”

“Something happened to Caroline, I’m really sorry, but I have to go.” Bonnie chokes back more tears. 

“I’ll take care of your boyfriend, Bonnie, you go to your friend.” Grams calls out from where she’s cleaning up the candles.

“Thank you” she whispers to both of them, before rushing out to her car.

“By ‘take care of’ you meant you're going to give me ‘the talk’, right Sheila?” Kol drawls, hands in his pockets in a seemingly relaxed stance.

“You don’t need the birds and the bees talk from the likes of me,” Sheila stares him down. “You need a ‘don’t hurt my granddaughter or I’ll make you wish you weren’t immortal’ talk.”

Kol winces. “Right. This’ll be pleasant.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, why do I keep coming up with things that need to be addressed before their summer of fun in Europe? I want to write club scenes, dammit!


End file.
